New MoonEdward Comes Back Early
by Maiya9182
Summary: Bella jumps off the cliff in LaPush, desperate to hear Edward's voice. She is saved from the raging waters by...Jacob Black? Nope. Edward Cullen. Future Lemons.
1. Chapter 1: Together Again

**Chapter 15; Pressure ****in ****New Moon ****(by SM)**** :**

"Fight!" he yelled. "Damn it, Bella, keep fighting!

_Why?_

I didn't want to fight anymore. And it wasn't the lightheadedness, or the cold, or the failure of my arms as the muscles gave out in exhaustion, that made me content to stay where I was. I was almost happy that it was over. This was an easier death then others I'd faced. Oddly peaceful.

I thought briefly of the clichés, about how you were suppose to see your life flash before your eyes. I was so much luckier. Who wanted to see a rerun, anyway?

I saw _him_, and I had no will to fight. It was so clear, so much more defined than any memory. My subconscious had stored Edward away in flawless detail, saving him for this final moment. I could see his perfect face as if he were really there; the exact shade of his icy skin, the shape of his lips, the line of his jaw, the gold glinting in his furious eyes. He was angry, naturally, that I was giving up. His teeth were clenched and his nostrils flared with rage.

"No! Bella, no!"

My ears were flooded with freezing water, but his voice was clearer than ever. I ignored his words and concentrated on the sound of his voice. Why would I fight when I was so happy where I was? Even as my lungs burned for more air and my legs cramped in the icy cold, I was content. I'd forgotten what real happiness felt like.

Happiness. It made the whole dying thing pretty bearable.

The current won at that moment, shoving me abruptly against something hard, a rock invisible in the gloom. It hit me solidly across the chest, slamming into me like an iron bar, and the breath whooshed out of my lungs, escaping in a thick cloud of silver bubbles. Water flooded down my throat, choking and burning. The iron bar seemed to be dragging me, pulling me away from Edward, deeper into the dark, to the ocean floor.

_Goodbye, I love you_, was my last thought.

**Chapter 16; Together Again (by me)**

Just seconds ago I had been sinking—or so I thought. I was now on my hands and knees on the beach of La Push, coughing and sputtering as my lungs desperately worked to extract the salty sea water from my body. The hand of my saviour pounded my back harshly yet somehow at the same time with care, but I was too out of it to realize that the palm wasn't soft like a normal human hand would be, but hard like a rock.

Finally, after a couple agonizing minutes of hacking coughs, I could breathe, however, my throat stung with each breath and screamed for clean water to wash the salt away. I collapsed on the sand and rolled over onto my back with closed, heavily lids. I felt as though I, well, almost died. In truth, I had.

I could still feel the presence of my hero, but I wasn't quite ready to face reality yet.

Suddenly I could feel a shadow over me. A tiny bead of cold, salty water dropped onto my bottom lip and stung my dry skin. Against my will, I opened my eyes slowly and gasped as I stared into the most beautiful things in the world. I was drowning again—only this time in the liquid gold of…Edward's eyes.

He was kneeling over me; his legs on either side of mine, and his hands on either side of my head. His perfect, full lips were slightly parted, and each time he exhaled, his sweet aroma washed over me. I studied his straight nose, his strong cheekbones, and the shape of his eyebrows. His beautiful copper hair was drenched with water and I deduced that the droplet had fallen from his perfect locks. My hand involuntarily reached up and stroked his marble forehead and his stone chin, followed by his soaking wet hair.

He felt exactly as I remembered.

I dropped my hand and fresh tears stung my eyes. Edward wasn't here with me. He couldn't be. He promised to never come back, and I knew he would stand by his declaration until I died.

I tried to think of an explanation that would explain this sudden heartbreaking yet beautiful hallucination. The little blood that was in my face drained. Just minutes ago I believed I was sinking. I must have been correct. Which meant…

I was dead.

I felt myself slipping away from consciousness, and I blacked out.

When my eyes opened, I was no longer at the beach in La Push. There was a warm, gold quilt draped over me, and I was in a pair of lacy blue silk pyjamas. My hair was dry and had been put into two braids. It seemed that I was lying on a sofa—yes, a large black leather sofa. I turned my head to the right, and found myself looking out at the forest, through a wall made entirely of glass.

Slowly, my brain put together the pieces, and I knew where I was. The Cullen's house.

Wasn't I dead? It felt like I was still in Forks. Was this heaven? I sure hoped not. An eternity in the house of my lost love filled with bittersweet memories, that were, for the most part bitter, seemed a lot like hell. What had I done to deserve this? Oh God, I had left Charlie. That was it. Poor Charlie, once again all alone. How could I have been so selfish?

Unless I really was still alive. I placed my middle finger against my neck, to feel if I had a pulse. Yes, I most certainly did. Was it truly possible that I had been saved? Then maybe I was dreaming. I pinched the skin on the side of my wrist. "Ouch." Yep, I was definitely awake as well.

I heard someone chuckle beside me. No, not _someone. _I would know the source of that chuckle anywhere. My head slowly turned, and my eyes took in the appearance of the angel before me.

He sat right beside the sofa, cross-legged, with his hands folded on his lap. My eyes widened, and tears filled them to the brim. He was here. He was really and truly here.

I flung myself off the sofa and into his arms, unable to control myself any longer. "Oh, Edward!"

Those were the only words I could get out before I began to sob uncontrollably. I was sure he would push me away, but he didn't. He hugged me closer to him than I thought possible.

Over the volume of my sobs, I could hear Edward sobbing, too. I didn't understand why he would feel the need to cry, but in that moment, I didn't care. I was just so happy to have him next to me, to be able to see him. Even if it was only for a little while. Because right now, I could pretend that he still loved me and that I was still allowed to love him.

EPOV

I ran through the thick forest, warring with myself. I had never hated myself as much as I did at this moment. Here I was, on my way to Forks, because I was so selfishly weak that I couldn't even stay away from her for a few months, let alone the rest of her life. A strong man would stand by his promise. He would put his love's needs before his own.

Even so, no one could ever say that I didn't try. Damn, I'd tried so hard. Every time I closed my eyes, I was haunted by her face and the look in her eyes when she believed that I no longer loved her. Then I wondered how it had been possible for me to be so heartless and deeply hurt the woman I loved. My brain had been turned on autopilot throughout the entire conversation. I hadn't allowed myself to think or feel until I was far away from her.

Each day without her felt worse than vampire venom spreading through a human body. Each second was sheer agony. My mind would replay each moment of our time together in perfect clarity and those memories were what kept me from returning, in the beginning. But as more time passed, the memories became a reminder of everything I lost and would never again have. My subconscious mind began to insist that it didn't have to be this way. I could be with her again.

And yesterday, I had finally cracked.

I was a monster. I was weak, selfish, and needy. I knew I would beg for Bella's forgiveness for decades. There was a possibility that she would tell me to leave her alone, tell me that she had moved on…

One part of me hoped I was right and the other screamed in pain.

I ran up the side of a large hill and smelt something foul. I stopped briefly, wrinkling my nose and searching for some recognition of the offending stench in my mind. I jumped far away from it when I realized I was standing only a foot away from the treaty line. It seemed there were once again werewolves in Washington. Shaking my head, I worried about Bella. Her father spent a lot of time in La Push and she probably accompanied him for time to time.

As I thought about this, a blood curdling scream rang out. It sounded oddly familiar and I ran to the top of the hill just in time to see my Bella plummeting toward the raging waters and disappear into the sea.

I didn't think. I just ran. Ran faster than I had in my entire vampire life, except for maybe the time with James. I flung myself into the water and found her instantly. She was not struggling like I imagined she should be, but her eyes were partly closed and her lips were curved into a delighted smile. I grabbed into her from behind and dragged her to the surface. Her head lolled back onto my shoulder and I pulled her onto the beach. Her heart was still beating so I flipped her over and started to pat her back with the least amount of pressure I could exert. She seemed to come back to life as the muscles in her body went from limp to tense. I let go of her now that she could hold herself up but continued my ministrations on her back.

Water trickled from the corners of her lips and spurted slightly with every cough. My body was tense with worry and fear that I might be doing something wrong and was hurting her rather than helping. But before I could freak out too much, she feel onto her back and sighed, her chest rising and falling with each heavy breath. Her eyes were closed, and I suddenly realized that I was with my Bella again.

Without consciously choosing to do so, I crawled toward her at a slow human speed until I was right over her, my legs on each side of her hips. I leaned down to examine her more closely, supporting myself by placing my hands in the rocky sand on either side of her head and hair.

Her hair was longer than before. I could tell she had not cut it since I'd been…away. Her face seemed slimmer, too. It was almost too slim. I worried that she had not been eating enough. There were deep hollows beneath her eyes and her lips were purple. I took in her beautiful long, thick lashes and wished she would open her lids so I could see her deep brown eyes.

As if reading my thoughts, her eyes fluttered open and she gasped, the surprise in them evident. I couldn't look away. She blinked quickly several times and I heard her heart beat speed up for almost tens seconds before it stuttered twice. Her eyes rolled back into her head as her lids closed and I began to panic. Her heart was still beating, but what had happened to her?

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out quickly, reading Alice's flashing name on the screen. I was surprised that it still worked after jumping into the water with it, but I flipped it open and pressed it to my ear.

"Alice, Bella—"

"She fainted, Edward. I saw everything and I am _so _glad you were there. Now pick her up and for God's sake, get back across the treaty line! I'll meet you at the house in an hour."

She hung up and I stuffed my phone back in my pocket before reaching down and cradling Bella in my arms. I ran in the direction of the house, making sure none of the leaves or branches brushed against her in the process. I flew up the stairs toward my room and pulled off all the dusty sheets, throwing them into the hall. I set her down gingerly on the sofa and removed her wet jeans, shoes and sweater so she wouldn't get hypothermia.

When she lay before me in nothing but a set of blue underwear and a bra I had so clench my hands together and keep from touching her. They were oddly fancy, and I had to wonder if maybe Alice had bought them for her last year. Either way, they looked…beautiful on her, and it felt wrong to think of her that way in the state she was currently in. I leaned against the wall and watched her sleep until Alice arrived.

She smiled and her thoughts were bursting with excitement. "She looks like hell," Alice observed. I glared at her. Bella looked as beautiful as ever, but I had to agree that she looked slightly ill and worn out.

_I'm going to put her into a nice comfortable pair of pyjamas,_ Alice thought to me. I shrugged and turned to leave the room.

_No peeking in my head! _She insisted as I walked from the room. I rolled my eyes but smiled a little. After pulling the sheets off everything else in the house, I called Carlisle. He picked up on the first ring.

"Edward? Something wrong?" he asked immediately.

"No, nothing like that." Even I could hear the difference of tone in my voice from the last time I called.

"What is it then?" he wondered, curiosity and hope evident in his words.

"I'm in Forks."

A three second silence.

"You've returned to her?" There was no need for him to explain who 'she' was.

A smile played around the corners my lips. "Yes."

"For good?"

"If she wishes, yes."

There was a quick whisper and then suddenly Esme was on the phone.

"Oh, Edward!" she gushed. "I'm so happy. You're happy now, aren't you? And we'll all be together again, is that right?"

"Yes, Esme," I assured her.

We spoke for a couple minutes longer until Alice told me Bella would be waking any minute. I said goodbye and began my ascent up the stairs. I tried to calm the nerves and prayed that she would allow me back into her life. If she didn't want me, well...I didn't know how it would be possible for me to stay away this time.


	2. Chapter 2 Reunion

**Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. **

I finally stopped crying, shortly after Edward did. I had so many questions in my head, just waiting to be answered. Why was he here? Why was _he_ crying? Was he here alone? What happened down at La Push? Did he cross the treaty line? Was he planning to leave soon?

My mind shrank away from the last question. I didn't want to think about that yet. I pushed myself off his lap, afraid that the more time we spent together, the faster it would chase him away.

His hand rose slowly, hesitantly, and wiped the remaining tears from my eyes. His fingers lingered on my cheek, and beautiful golden eyes stared into my chocolate brown ones. I couldn't understand his expression; it was somehow…tender? It was the same expression that Edward had looked at me with in the meadow. I must be interpreting it wrong; it must be sympathy.

My eyes closed in remorse, and I let my head lean against the sofa. A couple seconds later, I heard Edward's voice for the first time in so long. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Oh, he had the most amazing voice in the world. I couldn't believe how flawed my delusions of his voice had been. My chest began to ache more than it ever had before. I wanted Edward so badly, and he did not want me at all. I brought my knees up to my chest, and hugged them tightly against me.

"Are you in pain?" he asked, sounding worried. No, that can't be right. He wouldn't be worried about me.

"No," I lied, my voice barely louder than a whisper. My throat hurt slightly, but the pain in my chest over powered that by a landslide.

His hand touched my forehead; I shivered. "You don't have a fever. Are you sure you're alright? Because I can get something from downstairs—" No! I didn't want him to leave my side yet! He might not come back.

"I'm fine." I tried to make my voice sound strong, but it broke. Edward's eyes assessed me carefully. I looked away.

When the silence started to become a little awkward, I decided to ask one of my questions.

"So…" I began. "What happened? Down at La Push, I mean."

Edward immediately became uncomfortable. "I pulled you out from the water and towed you to land. Then you passed out and I carried you to my house. Alice changed you and did your hair."

That hardly answered my question, but when he said Alice's name, I was distracted. "Alice? Alice is here, too?" I asked, excited.

Edward nodded his head slowly, his face grave. "She's downstairs. Would you like her to come up?"

I nodded my head quickly, my face enthusiastic.

In the next second, Alice was standing in the doorway. She grinned. "Those pajamas look so cute on you."

"Alice!" I squealed, jumping up. As soon as I was on my feet, I lost my balance and started to fall on my face.

Edward's arms wrapped around my waist before I could descend too far, and he stood me upright. I expected him to let go of me, but his hands continued to hold me. I looked up into his eyes. "Thanks," I mumbled, pulling away.

Edward's lips parted slightly, and his eyes bulged out of his head. Only a moment later, his face became unreadable, but I was sure I could see a little pain in his eyes. Which again made no sense.

"Uh…I'll let you two talk alone for a minute." His voice sounded strained.

I of course began panicking again. My breathing got faster and louder. "No, don't go yet."

Alice answered me now. "He'll be right back up," she assured me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

Out the corner of my eye, I saw Edward's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Go on, Edward," Alice insisted. He nodded again and left to room faster than my eyes could follow.

I turned back to Alice and threw myself into her arms. To my surprise, tears began to fall again. "I missed you," I whispered.

She patted my back soothingly. "I missed you too, Bella. Are you okay?"

I didn't answer her. I really wasn't okay, but I definitely wasn't going to say that when Edward was within hearing range. Then again, how much more time did I have with her? Were they leaving shortly?

"Bella?" she asked when I didn't answer right away.

I looked up from the floor into her knowing eyes, and let my face answer her question.

Alice nodded thoughtfully, and continued to rub my back as tears streamed silently down my face.

After what seemed like a long time, I asked Alice the most important question that had been on my mind since I saw Edward.

"Are you leaving again?" I tried to speak, but was only able to mouth the words. The few seconds in between my question and Alice's answer were almost painful.

"That all depends," she whispered.

I felt the blood drain from my face. "On what?" I mouthed again.

She stared at me for what seemed like forever. "I think Edward should be the one answering your questions. Is it alright if he talks to you alone for a while?"

I put my finger on my chin and stared at the ceiling, pondering. "Okay."

Alice stared to leave, but I grabbed her arm. "Wait! Don't leave until he comes up." My voice sounded a little hysterical.

Alice looked seriously concerned, but didn't have time to comment. Edward had entered the bedroom. She left without saying anything else.

Edward stood at the doorway for several seconds, and then walked at a human pace towards the leather sofa. He sat down gracefully, and gestured for me to sit down as well. I sat on the opposite side of him and wrapped the warm quilt around me.

I decided I would start. "Are you staying?" I whispered.

Edward looked down at his hands. "Maybe. It depends."

I squeezed my eyes shut for five seconds and then opened them. "On?"

He just continued to stare at his hands. I counted in my head to one-hundred. "Edward?" I asked again. Nothing. I counted to one-hundred again.

"Please, Edward. Just answer me." I accidentally allowed so much pain to escape into my voice that Edward looked up at me with surprise. We stared into each others eyes. I felt as if I was drowning in a pool of liquid gold.

"Edward."

He finally gave in. "It depends on whether…you…still love me."

My breathing stopped, and the hole in my chest rippled with pain. I clutched my hands to my heart and gasped. Tears began to stream down my face, again. He would leave if he knew I loved him. He would stay if I didn't love him.

"Bella!" he exclaimed, alarmed. I could barely hear him over the voice screaming at me in my head. _He'll leave if you say you love him! He'll leave if you say you love him!_

Edward's hands were on the side of my face, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. His own face was only a few inches away from mine, and I could taste his sweet breath. He was frowning and shaking his head. It was like he was having a conversation in his head.

"Edward! Tell her the truth!" Alice screamed from the bottom floor. Ah, I understood it now. Edward _was_ having an internal conversation—with Alice.

My tears turned into sobs. "Fine!" Edward yelled at Alice.

He looked at me with an expression that stopped my sobs immediately. There were so many emotions on display. Pain. Desperation. Hope. Fear. And...something else.

"Bella," he whispered. "I love you."

My jaw dropped, and the air whooshed out of my lungs, making a sound of surprise. My mind reeled. He was serious, wasn't he? The emotions that had made no sense before, suddenly did. I had it wrong. Edward would leave if I _didn't_ love him. He would stay if I did. He would stay if I did!

While my mind processed this information, Edward leaned away, his face twisted in remorse and embarrassment. With a jolt of shock, I realized that he thought I felt differently.

"No," I whispered, reaching out to hold his face in my hands. His eyes met mine, and his lips parted. I leaned forward, so that our faces were less than an inch apart. My breathing became heavy, as did his. I felt his right hand on the small of my back, and his left hand reached out to touch my cheek. Then I closed my eyes, and closed the tiny space between us. Our kiss started off slow and careful, but soon became fast and urgent. My arms moved around his neck, and I pressed myself closer to him. Tears, once again, ran down my face.

Soon I was gasping for air, and Edward pulled away, only to embrace me in a hug. I hugged him back as hard as I could. "I love you, too," I whispered.

**Please review if you enjoyed this chapter. My sister is always curious to know what you like and don't like!**

**-Maiya L**


	3. Chapter 3 Disadvantage

**Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

I felt complete for the first time in seven months.

Edward and I were at my house now. I was lying across the sofa with my head on Edward's lap. He played with my hair as he told me the truth of the events back in September, and then he traced patterns on my face as he gave me more details concerning my near death experience in La Push.

"And you were in the country because..?" I had asked him.

He smiled his crooked smile that I had missed so much. "I was coming to check on you. I kept telling my self that if you were happy, I would leave again, but my subconscious knew that once I saw you, that wouldn't be possible." He frowned then, thinking of something else. "But you _weren't_ happy. Bella…I can't even tell you how sorry I am." His face had turned apologetic, and pained.

It hurt me to see him so upset, so much more than it hurt to see Jacob upset. I reached up and touched his lips. "Don't apologize. I know now that you left for me. It didn't exactly work…" he nodded in agreement. "But still, you gladly took the pain in trade for giving me a human life." I pursed my lips, thinking over my words. "Well, it wasn't exactly a _human _life I had while you were gone, if you could call it a life at all. The time in which I was actually doing something, it wasn't with a human."

His eyes studied my face carefully, and after a couple seconds, he nodded to himself. "So you do know about the werewolves." He concluded to himself.

"_You_ know about the werewolves?" I asked, incredulous.

He smiled angelically. "Of course. They were here last time we stayed in Forks. But…" he said, changing his tone. "I'm quite interested in how you came to know of the existence of werewolves."

I smiled sheepishly. "Well…remember Jacob Black?"

That's all I needed to say for Edward to understand. His eyes widened the tiniest bit. "That makes sense. His great-grandfather was a werewolf, too. In fact, he was the Alpha of the pack."

"Really?" I asked, fascinated. "I didn't know that."

"Mmm," he murmured as he pressed his lips against the back of my hand. "We have much to discuss about the werewolves, but for now, I just want to enjoy my time with you."

Edward pulled me up so that I was sitting on his lap with his arms wrapped tightly around me. My fingers stroked his cheek, and he leaned in and kissed me.

I think it had been about a minute; it was hard to keep track of time when I kissed him, but suddenly, I heard a loud knock at the window. Edward and I quickly pulled away from each other, and I gasped when I saw the cause of the noise.

There stood Charlie, his expression one of pure fury. Edward seemed just as surprised to see Charlie as I was. That was a first—nothing ever caught him by surprise. _Kissing must have the same affect on him as it did on me_, I thought dryly.

Charlie disappeared from the window, and I suspected he was headed for the door. I shot a panicked look at Edward. "What now?" I whispered. He looked equally as worried.

"I have no idea. We're going to have to wing it."

This was not going to be pretty. Charlie practically hated Edward for leaving. Actually, 'hated' was an understatement.

The door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang. I flinched. That was going to leave a dent. His footsteps weren't exactly quiet as he made his way to the family room. When I got sight of his expression as he stared at Edward, I completely forgot about that.

He jabbed a finger at Edward. "What the _hell_ are you doing here?!" Charlie all but screamed. I covered my ears.

"Dad—" I began at the same time Edward said, "Charlie—"

"You actually think that you can just walk into my house after over half a year if no contact, and just pick up where you left off? Well, you thought wrong."

"Charlie, it's—" Edward tried again.

"There is absolutely _no way_ I will allow you to be within a mile of Bella!"

I gasped and clutched Edward's arm. "He's staying right here!"

Charlie turned his body towards me. "Bella, if you even think for one second this imbecile is going to be around you, then—"

He was interrupted as Alice came skipping into the house. "Hey Charlie!" she said cheerfully.

Charlie slowly turned around. "Alice," he said carefully. "I would love to talk to you later, but I'm dealing with something right now."

Alice looked towards me and Edward, first looking surprised, and then understanding washed over her face. I knew it was all an act. She had obviously seen this in a vision.

"Charlie, I think you should calm down for a minute and look into the situation a bit more."

Charlie's expression was once again furious. "Are you kidding? This lunatic here—"

"Stop it." Alice's voice was no longer sweet and happy. It was cold and harsh. I actually saw what looked a bit like fear in my father's eyes. "You don't know the half of it. I can tell you the other side of the story, if you just relax for a minute."

"But Alice—" Charlie protested.

She held up her hands, palms forward. "Come into the kitchen so we can talk."

My dad opened his mouth again, but before he could speak, Alice's glare silenced him.

Shoulders slouched, he followed her into the kitchen. I almost laughed out loud—he looked like a child that's been caught doing something wrong.

"What's she going to say?" I whispered to Edward.

He smiled. "Listen."

"Charlie, don't say a word until I've finished speaking, alright?" Alice said from the other room.

"Fine," he muttered.

"Okay. Firstly, Edward didn't want to leave, and he was afraid of telling Bella that we were going. We're back now, because Esme didn't like Los Angeles. Too sunny for her. Secondly, Edward got the impression that Bella didn't like him anymore, and that she was going to break up with him. In L.A., he didn't call, positive that Bella wouldn't talk to him. He made no contact for her sake. Thirdly, Edward was miserable—he didn't leave his room for two months, and after that, he left only to go to school. He didn't talk to anyone, or do anything." She took a deep breath. "That's it."

Charlie was speechless. I felt the corner of my lips turn up into a victorious smile. Finally, he muttered, "Forgot to do something at work. Be home later."

He walked straight out of the kitchen, past the family room, and out the door, looking forward the whole time. I heard the police cruiser start up, and heard the screech of the wheels as it drove away.

"Thank you, Alice," I said as she walked out of the kitchen.

"I figured he wouldn't listen to anyone but me," she replied.

I laughed. "You guessed right."

Edward wrapped his arms around me again. "He'll let me in and out of the house, but I don't think he'll be talking to me for a while. He was actually quite controlled—compared to his thoughts."

"At least you're here," I whispered.

Edward turned me around, bent down, and kissed me softly. "As I will be forever more," he whispered against my lips.

**Review if this chapter was enjoyable to you!**

**-Maiya**


	4. Chapter 4 Treaty

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy ;)**

**Oh, if anyone wants any of the chapters I write in Edward's perspective, let me know!/b**

**Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer **

Dad,

I'm going to the Cullens' house. Everyone is back now,

and I wanted to say hello to them all. Dinner is ready; it's

in the oven, keeping warm. Call me if you need something.

-Bella

I clung to Edward's back as he ran, and actually kept my eyes open. It didn't scare me anymore. I couldn't even remember why this had made me dizzy. Edward stopped a ways from the house and I jumped off his back. He took my hand in his, and we began to walk at a human pace.

"So," he said nonchalantly. "Why did you jump off that cliff?" He really did try to sound casual, but I knew he was feeling anything but.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself." I had to make sure he knew that first.

"What _were _you trying to do then?" he asked, no longer relaxed. I could hear both anxiety and disapproval in his voice.

I sighed. "You'll think I'm crazy."

Edward stopped walking and turned to face me, reaching out to hold my other hand. "No. Never. I just want you to tell me the truth." His eyes searched mine, trying to decipher my thoughts.

I sighed again. "Well…I went to Port Angeles with Jessica a while ago to ease Charlie's mind. We went and saw a movie about zombies…"

Edward raised one of his eyebrows. He knew I wasn't a particular fan of horror movies. "Did Jessica pick that one out?"

I shook my head. "No, I did."

He opened his mouth to question me again, but I cut him off. I wasn't particularly thrilled with the thought of explaining to him just exactly how messed up I was while he was gone. "After the movie we started walking towards the McDonalds, but we passed a bar on the way. I saw three men who looked similar to the three men who had tried to…well, the men you had saved me from a year ago in Port Angeles."

Edward hissed, and his expression turned murderous. "They weren't the same ones," I said quickly. He relaxed and then nodded his head for me to go on.

"I started to walk towards them, and each time I took a step, I could hear your voice. As clearly as if you were standing right next to me. I figured out that when I did something dangerous, or reckless, your voice would come into my head. I heard your voice when I rode my motorcycle, and when I jumped off the cliff."

Edward's eyes were completely wide with shock. "Motorcycles? Drunks? All to hear my voice?" Disbelieving, he shook his head. "I don't want you ever doing anything like that again," he whispered, pulling me into his arms. "At least it was only three times," he added.

"Uh…there was another incident as well."

He pulled away slightly to look at my face. I fidgeted, trying to prepare myself for his definite response. "I was in the meadow a couple weeks ago, and Laurent showed up. He was…thirsty."

Edward's arms tightened around me, and he growled. "I will hunt him down like a shark. His breaths are numbered."

"He's dead, Edward," I murmured, shivering at the truth of his words.

Edward's emotions changed once again, back to surprise. "How?"

"The wolves," I whispered.

"I guess I have lots to thank them for," he muttered. "Speaking of the werewolves, Bella, we have a few problems. Firstly, do you know about the treaty?

I nodded.

"Well, I crossed the line saving you, which means there is a good chance of war. Carlisle will have to talk to them and explain. Or maybe you should explain. Could you call Jacob when we get to the house?"

It was strange to hear so much hardness in his voice. I answered him lightly anyways. "Sure. He'll be wondering where I am anyways, since—"

Edward suddenly grabbed me and pulled me behind him. His whole body was tense, and on alert. "Bella," he whispered. "Stay calm. We're going to have to try to explain before it gets out of hand."

"What do you—" I started to say, but then I understood as five, horse size wolves emerged from the trees, their teeth barred.

EPOV

The werewolves stood in a circle around Bella and me, completely surrounding us. I knew it was only a matter of time before Alice looked for my future and saw this. I was sure that seven vampires could take on five werewolves. Or at the least, the wolves would decide that the numbers weren't even enough to fight.

_Jacob—you'll go in for the attack with me. Embry—join the attack if we need help. Paul—watch for the other bloodsuckers. And Jared—jump in and help anyone who needs it. _

The Alpha of the pack gave strict orders to the other four dogs. What was his name? Sam Uley, that was it. Well, this Sam had no intention of leaving until I was dead.

I recognized Jacob Black's mental voice as he spoke to the Alpha. _Sam, we can't just attack when Bella is clinging to…it. _

He was right. They would definitely hurt Bella, and I would not allow that. I turned my head slightly back and whispered to her, "Run."

"What?" she squealed. "No!"

She was so stubborn! Why couldn't she just listen to me, just this once? "Bella," I hissed. "Please."

_We're attacking. Now!_

I whipped my head around just in time to see Sam begin to leap towards me. The second I heard his thoughts, I thought _this is it. This is the end._ I was positive that I was about to die. About to find out whether or not I had lost my soul. I hoped that Bella was right, and that maybe I would be with her again.

But in the next second, I realized that Bella had moved herself in front of me the just before Sam had sprang. My first instinct was to pull her out of the way, but I stopped when Sam halted his attack, just a couple feet away.

_Damn it!_ He cursed.

I was momentarily confused, but a couple moments later, I understood. He couldn't harm a human.

Bella threw her arms around my neck and then lifted herself up so that she could wrap her legs around my waist.

She twisted her body slightly so that she could look at Sam. He came so close that his heavy, hot breath blew Bella's hair from her face. She didn't even flinch by his extremely close proximity. She stared right into his huge black eyes, and spoke as if she were a scolding mother. "You will not touch him."

Sam growled ferociously, just inches from Bella's face. I was shocked when her strict expression didn't change. She was braver than I had thought. She was amazing.

"Edward has done absolutely nothing wrong."

The rest of the wolves joined into their Alpha's growling.

Still, Bella remained business like. "If he hadn't crossed the line, I would have died." She looked towards the big brown wolf now. Jacob. "Remember the cliff diving? I did that on my own, and the current was a little stronger than I had thought. I would have drowned. Would you have rather had me die, or have had Edward cross the line, pull me out, and then leave as soon as he could?"

The wolves continued to growl, with the exception of Jacob.

_Sam, she's telling the truth. I would be able to tell if she was lying._ I breathed a sigh of relief, mentally thanking Jacob.

_It doesn't matter!_ Sam shouted at him. _The leech crossed the line. The treaty has been broken._

"Sam," I said, speaking for the first time. "What else could I do? Stand there while I knew she was drowning, when I could do something to prevent it?"

_What does it matter to the bloodsucker?_ Sam seethed to himself.

"It matters everything to me. My whole life depends on it," I answered his though.

The wolf glanced at me with momentary surprise, and then became a bit mocking. _I forgot you could read minds. So, tell me then, bloodsucker, how could her life possibly matter to you, after what you did to her? _A horrible image then filled Sam's mind. There lay Bella, curled up on the forest floor, her expression heart broken. She looked so…helpless. I cringed, and my knees began to shake.

I'd wallow in remorse for what I had done later. First I had to get Bella out of here alive. Where on earth was Alice? "Her life matters more to me than you can ever imagine. I'm just beginning to understand how wrong my actions were. But you have to understand…I did it for all the right reasons."

_Right reasons for _you_!_ He spat.

"You don't understand," I whispered. "I left, because I wanted Bella to have a human life."

The wolves stared at me for what seemed like forever.

_How do I know you're telling the truth?_

"You don't," I said to Sam. "You could ask anyone of my family, or Bella, but I doubt you'll believe any of us. This is beside the point, though." I stood straight and tall, and looked directly into Sam's eyes. "I am very sorry for crossing the line, and it will not happen again. Please understand that I had no other choice."

He stared at me, deliberating. _Fine,_ he finally said. _But you should know that we can no longer protect Bella on this side of the line, so you bloodsuckers had better be on alert. _

"Alert for what?" What was he talking about?

"Oops," Bella whispered. I glanced at her quickly before looking back at Sam. She knew what was going on.

_There's another leech here that isn't with you. She's a red head, and she's after Bella._

"What?" I hissed. Victoria. Victoria was after Bella! My vision turned red, and I couldn't think straight. While I had been gone, Victoria had been here. With Laurent, I presumed. Could my plan have been any worse?

Bella reached up and stroked by check. "Shh," she whispered. "It's okay. Be calm."

It's okay? Of course it wasn't okay! She hadn't even told me about this! What if she never had? Victoria could have come for her and my family and I would have been completely unprepared.

She smoothed out the lines on my forehead with her fingertips. "Edward, relax. At least for a moment."

Oh. I understood what she was trying to say now. Translation—lets talk about this _after _the wolves have gone.

I took a deep breath. "Thank you." I really was very grateful to Sam. Our only hope besides this had been Alice, and she apparently was too distracted by something to see us.

He made no acknowledgement towards me, and he slowly began to back away along with the rest of the werewolves, until the wolves were completely out of sight.

Without a word, I picked up Bella and threw her onto my back, then broke into a flat out sprint; my one and only destination the house. After running only a few dozen meters, I ran smack into a petit, stone object. I fell backwards from the impact, squishing Bella.

"Ouch."

I leapt off of her quickly and picked her up again, this time cradling her in my arms. "Are you okay?" I asked frantically. "Did I hurt you?"

She smiled. "I'm fine, Edward."

"Are you sure?" I pressed. "Why did you say ouch?"

She laughed at my worried expression. "Because you squashed me. But I'm completely okay."

I wouldn't have let it go at that, but a voice stopped me.

"Edward, leave her alone. She's fine."

I looked down at Alice as she rolled her eyes. I frowned. "Thanks for all the help," I muttered sarcastically.

Her expression changed and became confused. "What happened?"

I raised my eyebrows incredulously. "You don't know? Didn't I just run into you on your way to help us?"

"No and yes." Her eyes took on a very confused look as she thought back to her vision. Bella and I were walking slowly through the forest, talking, when I suddenly stopped and pulled her behind me. I looked around, my gaze zeroing in on the trees to the left of us, and then…

It went black. There was nothing else.

"The end of my vision went blank, and I couldn't see either of you anymore," she continued, seconding my thought.

"You…couldn't see us?" Bella exclaimed, eyes wide.

Alice grimaced. "Apparently." _Why? Why, why, why? Am I losing my gift?_

"Relax, Alice," I said, rolling my eyes. I didn't know why she couldn't see us, but I was sure she wasn't losing her psychic abilities. "I doubt it's that. I don't think a vampire had ever lost a gift before."

That didn't help her relax at all. "But…what if I miss something again, when you two are in bigger danger?" she asked, voice shaky.

Her question sparked an earlier thought. I turned my gaze to Bella, and she looked up.

My eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell me about Victoria?" I demanded in a whisper.

**Review please ;-)**

**Maiya**


	5. Chapter 5 Giving in

**Disclaimer : Everything Twilight belongs to SM**

Edward and I were lying in my bed for the first time in so long. My head was resting against his chest and my eyes were shut. His fingers played with a strand of my hair. I thought back to the events of the day. Firstly I almost drowned. Then Edward came back, and I learned he had, did, and will always love me. Then Charlie had come home, and next the werewolves had tried to attack. A slight smile rested on my lips as I remembered how Edward had freaked out when he found out that Victoria was trying to kill me. He had worried that I tried to keep it from him, when in truth, I had just actually forgotten about all about her. My mind could think of nothing other than Edward.

The rest of the day was quite relaxing. We had spent the remainder of the afternoon at Edward's house. I was ecstatic to see Esme again, as well as the rest of his family. Rosalie had given me plenty of cold stares, but my blissful mood had made her irrelevant. Charlie had arrived home an hour ago. I feigned sleep when he entered my room to check on me—I wasn't ready to talk to him about Edward yet.

But there was, however, something very important I had to talk to Edward about. If he was going to stay forever, then I needed to be with him forever. Not just for a human life time.

"Edward, we need to discuss something."

His fingers froze. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "What about?"

I tilted my head up so I could at him. His face was carefully composed; guarded.

"Do you really mean you'll stay?"

He sighed, both relieved and frustrated. "Bella, I will never leave your side again. I couldn't even if I wanted to. I need you too much."

"Then you'll turn me into a vampire?" I had been planning to ask this in a much more subtle way, but I couldn't help the words from popping out.

Edward's body tensed up. "Are you really going to make me think about that when I've only been back for less than a day?" He tried to make a joke of it, but there was an edge behind his voice.

"This is serious, Edward. I'm not going to be able to relax until we come to a resolve."

His voice hardened. "You mean that we won't come to a resolve until this goes your way."

"So you won't turn me." It wasn't a question—it was a statement. If he didn't want me around for that long, then he obviously didn't want me near as much as I wanted him. I tear trickled down my cheek.

He wiped it away delicately with a kiss. "Why are you crying?"

"Because you obviously don't want me." My voice was barely audible.

He gasped. "Why on earth would you think that?" he demanded.

More tears began to fall. "You don't want me for more than a human life time. You probably don't even want me for more than a few more years."

"Bella!" he spoke louder now. "Of course I do! I'll want you forever."

"Then why won't you turn me?"

He was silent. Finally after several minutes he answered me. "I…I can't…I won't…"

I waited.

He took a deep breath. "I won't end your life like that."

"You'd be beginning my life. Not ending it."

"Bella, I refuse to condemn you to hell."

Now I was angry. "Why is this your choice? It's my life we're talking about! It should be _my choice_."

He closed his eyes. "Can we please discuss this later?" he pleaded.

"You think I'm going to be able to fall asleep now?"

He sighed. "No, I suppose not."

I thought over all the reasons I wanted this, trying to put them in order in my head.

"Edward, can you please try to listen to my point of view for just a moment?"

"Alright," he sighed, looking out the window.

I took his face in my hands and turned it so he was looking at me. "Actually _try _to see my side of things."

His golden eyes stared at me for a long period of time, and then he finally answered me in a genuine voice. "I'll try."

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "The only thing I do and will always want is you. Without you, nothing else has any meaning to me. If you took yourself away from me, I would have nothing." I stopped for a moment and asked him a quick question. "Are you with me?"

He nodded, and I continued.

"So, by taking away the opportunity to have more time with you than just seventy so years more, you're taking yourself from me. Do you get where I'm coming from?"

"Yes, but—"

I cut him off. "Look at it this way. What if I was a vampire, and you were human? What would you want? Answer me honestly."

"That's different."

I scowled. "It is every bit much the same and you know it. But tell me, whose choice would it be? Would it be fair if I didn't let you change, when that was all you wanted?"

"I'd just ask Alice if you wouldn't let me."

Had he really just said that? Had he really just given me permission to ask Alice to change me? I laughed once.

His face paled. He hadn't meant to say that. "I was being honest," he muttered, frustrated.

"So I have permission to go to Alice?" I snickered. I couldn't help it.

"Absolutely not."

My face fell.

"But," he said. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "You can go to me."

My eyes widened. This was more than I had ever wanted. He had actually decided to change me. I would become a vampire, and I would be with Edward forever. But even more than that, _he_ would change me! Not Carlisle—him!

I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his lips gently. He kissed me back momentarily, and then pushed my face back a bit.

"On one condition," he added, grinning mischievously.

Uh-oh.

"What?" I demanded, instantly tense.

"Relax," he said. "It isn't too bad."

I waited, but he didn't go on. "What's the condition?" I finally asked.

He laughed. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Really." That wasn't fair at all.

"Yes, really." He smiled down at me angelically. "Should I call Jasper so you can fall asleep?"

"I'm thinking that that might be necessary," I muttered.

He laughed again and pulled out his phone. "Jasper? Can you please—"

He listened intently to Jasper. "Of course she did. Okay, thanks. See you in a minute." He shut the phone.

"Alice saw this, didn't she?" I asked Edward. He smiled and shook his head.

"Not exactly. She saw you so deprived of sleep that you were walking into walls."

Great.

**I hope you're all enjoying it so far. Review if you are!**

**-Maiya**


	6. Chapter 6 Help?

**Very short chapter. Another will be up in a moment though !**

**Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to SM**

Chapter 28 EPOV

"Rosalie…" I began.

She looked up from her glistening red nails questioningly.

"I need help."

She raised one perfect eyebrow. "The perfect Edward Cullen needs help?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "I need help when it comes to Bella."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why do you think I know anything about her?"

"I want to propose to her, and I need to know how to do it right," I said, trying to ignore the venomous emotions in her mind.

Suddenly Rosalie burst out laughing. _You're marrying a human?_ She asked the question in her head, because she was unable to stop the uncontrollable laughter.

My mood darkened. "Not exactly." Why had I given in to her? I felt so…selfish. Sinful. It was so wrong. So why had I agreed? _Oh, right_, I thought to myself dryly. _Because you can't deny her a thing. And you want this, too_.

"What do you mean 'not exactly'?" Rosalie demanded.

Suddenly Alice appeared by my side. "He's going to turn Bella!" she squealed, jumping up and down while clapping her hands. I flinched at hearing the words aloud.

Rosalie's jaw dropped, and a shocked sound exited her mouth. "Are you _serious_?" Her shock quickly wore off though, anger taking it's place. She opened her mouth to speak, but Alice cut her off.

"Oh, give it a rest, Rose," she sighed. "Bella's going to be living with us for the next who-knows-how-many years. Do you want to stay angry and miserable and jealous for hundreds of centuries? Or do you want to accept that Bella is going to be part of our family, in more ways than one?"

I was amazed when Rosalie's anger wavered the tiniest bit.

"Don't you think that _you'd_ be happier if you just let go of all the things you have against Bella?" Alice continued.

Rosalie's anger dimmed even more. I could see she was considering dropping her prejudice. _Sure, she's human right now, but maybe when she's a vampire, I might get along with her…_ Suddenly, she snapped back to reality, filing away what Alice had told her for later.

"Whatever, Alice," she muttered nonchalantly, as if all Alice had said meant absolutely nothing to her. "Why don't you help Edward plan his proposal? He obviously needs all the help he can get."

Before I could open my mouth to speak, Alice spoke. "You should help him, too, Rose. Like you said, he needs all the help he can get."

Rosalie was silent for a moment. Her thoughts were in such a jumble that I could barely read them. Finally she sighed and smiled slightly, turning toward me.

"Okay, Edward. What did you have planned? I need _something_ to work with."

I grinned. Never in a million years would I have thought that Rosalie would become friends with Bella.

Alright, that was an overstatement. Never in a million years would I have thought that Rosalie would become _accomplices_ with Bella.

"Well," I began. "I wanted to give her my mother's wedding ring."

"Oooo," Alice cooed. "That is definitely romantic."

But Rosalie shook her head. "Don't you think she'd like something new and sparkly? More modern?"

Alice laughed and thought, _Imagine Bella wearing something_ modern!

I laughed too. "We're talking about _Bella_ here. She won't want something new, or expensive."

Rosalie frowned, but nodded. "Okay then. You can go with that ring. Where did you want to propose then?"

Now I frowned. I hadn't really thought about that. "I don't know. Does it really matter where?"

Alice and Rosalie exchanged an exasperated—and knowing—look.

"Men," Alice muttered.

Rosalie breathed out a dramatic sigh. "Looks like we're going to be here for a while."


	7. Chapter 7 Shopping

**Disclaimer : Everything Twilight belongs to SM**

When I woke up, Edward wasn't in my room. The first thing I thought was that he had left again, but before I had a chance to panic, Alice was sitting in my bed beside me.

"Morning, Bella!" she said, eyes gleaming.

"Where's Edward?" I asked franticly.

She rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Bella. He's busy preparing something for you. So today, you and I are going to spend some time together!"

I glared at her suspiciously. It was obvious they were up to something, and I didn't know whether to be excited or worried.

"Whatare we doing today?" I asked hesitantly. I could only imagine the horrors Alice had planned.

"We're driving to Olympia to do some shopping!" she squealed. "There's going to be a huge sale on designer dresses all day! Normally I wouldn't allow you to wear something off the rack, but we don't have time to order you anything before Edward's surprise."

My eyes got wider and wider with fright. The last time the words 'dress' and 'surprise' were used in the same conversation, I had been subjected to prom. God only knew what they had planned for me this time.

"Alice, Alice wait." I held my hands up, palms forward. She frowned at me as she waited for me to continue.

"If you're trying to ready me for a public event, so help me I—"

"It will be just you and Edward," she promised genuinely.

I took a deep breath. "Okay. I can live with that, then."

"Goody!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands and bouncing on the bed. "Get dressed and meet me downstairs. We have a lot of work to do today."

"Alright Bella," Alice said, pulling out a notepad from her pocket. She looked it over then spoke to me.

"The ideal dress should first and foremost be dark blue, solely for Edward. It should go down to just above your knee, and a little flair would be nice. I don't care what the straps look like, but I want the dress to be sleeveless. Cleavage should be kept to a minimum, but don't make it completely obsolete. As for the material…well, silk is probably best. Oh, and I want you to find a silver necklace and bracelet. Got it?"

I stared at her blankly.

"Can I have the notepad, please?" I asked politely.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, but placed the notepad into my outstretched hand.

"Call me when you think you've found one, and then I'll find you some shoes."

I nodded. "Where will you be?"

"I'll just be looking around," she said, a little too innocently. Whatever it was she was keeping from me, I was sure it was something I didn't want to know.

"Okay, Alice. See you in a bit." Then I turned toward the hundreds of racks.

Half an hour later, Alice appeared again.

"How's it going?" she chirped.

Sheepishly, I held out my empty hands, earning a frown from Alice.

"You didn't find anything at least _similar_ to the description I gave you?" she asked, disappointed.

"Well.." I began. Alice narrowed her eyes. "I found a few, but I don't think they'd look good on me. They're not the style I like—"

Alice cut me off abruptly. "What was I thinking, sending you off alone? Wait here."

Before I had a chance to blink, she was back again, holding two dresses.

"Pick one," she ordered.

They were both blue, but the first one had spaghetti straps and was very long. The second had thicker straps and went to my knee, however, the cleavage seemed a bit excessive.

"Um…" I started. I was sure to trip with the first one, and I'd be blushing the whole night if I chose the second.

"Neither?" I asked with little hope.

Alice sighed and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she opened them again.

"We're going with the second one. You'll be falling down more than you'll be standing if we get you the long one. And Edward will like the shorter one best."

I blushed.

"Wait for me in the car, Bella," Alice laughed handing me the keys.


	8. Chapter 8 Proposal

**Disclaimer : Everything Twilight belongs to SM**

Ten hours later, we were back in Rosalie's red convertible, _finally_ on our way home. Bags were piled high in the back seat, and five more sat on my lap. I had spent almost seven hours complaining about how sore my feet were from all the walking, so Alice ended up taking me for a pedicure.

After the pedicure I was taken back to the Cullens' house where Alice did my makeup and dressed me.

**********

"What do you think?" she had asked me while I looked in the mirror at the new and improved me.

"Wow. Just…wow."

Alice had laughed. "I can't wait to see your blush when Edward looks you over!"

**********

As we neared my house my breath quickened. I had absolutely no idea what was planned for me. Was it just a dinner with Edward? Or was there something else going on?

"Deep breaths, Bella," Alice said, listening to my heart. "Why are you scared?"

I took a few deep breaths and then answered. "I'm just on edge. I have no idea what will happen tonight."

Alice shook her head in faux tragedy.

"I would have thought that you would trust me by now," she said to her self sadly.

I rolled my eyes. "Alice, I trust you. I'm just nervous."

We pulled into Charlie's vacant parking spot on the drive-way. He was out on a two day fishing trip with Billy and Harry Clearwater. He hadn't had a chance to talk to me about Edward yet, but I was sure that lecture would come almost immediately after he returned.

Alice was at my side of the car in an instant, opening it for me.

"Hurry up, Bella. We don't have time for human paces."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the car then flung me onto her back.

"Jeez, Alice! I am capable of—"

I stopped short as soon as I registered my surroundings. Where were we?

It took me a second to realize we were standing in my backyard, but it looked completely different.

Twinkly lights were draped over all the trees, making the yard glow. Just a few meters from me there was a tall statue placed in the center of a shallow pond. It was a statue of…

I gasped. It was a statue of me. I was smiling pleasantly, holding an intricately shaped flower. Flowers were embedded in my hair too, and I wore a long, flowing dress. This version of me looked like a goddess.

Reluctantly, I ripped my eyes away from the statue, and gasped again. A little stone pathway made its way across the lawn to a beautiful gazebo. Lights were strewn over the lovely building as well.

And, sitting in the gazebo was Edward. He wore a black tuxedo and looked even more breathtaking than usual. In his hand he held a rose.

"How the hell did you renovate my backyard in one day?" I hissed at Alice, never removing my eyes from Edward.

She giggled quietly.

"Vampire," she said, pointing to her chest. "Remember?"

I could only imagine Charlie's reaction to our new backyard, and I shuddered.

"And we'll have it all down by tomorrow morning," she added, as if reading my mind.

Edward slowly walked toward us, a small smile resting on his lips. He stopped a foot in front of me and his eyes swept my body from head to toe. I felt my face heat.

"I _knew_ you'd blush when Edward checked you out!" Alice laughed to herself.

I blushed more deeply, but Edward acted as if he hadn't even heard her. He reached out and stroked my face, from my temple to my chin.

"You look absolutely exquisite," he whispered.

I smiled. "So do you," I whispered back.

Alice sighed dreamily.

"You two are so cute together!" she squealed.

Edward looked toward her now, as if he hadn't realized she was standing right next to us.

"Thank you, Alice, for spending the day with her. Now, if you'll excuse us…" he trailed off suggestively.

"See you later, Edward. Bye Bella." And with one last wink for Edward, she was gone, leaving Edward and I alone.

"Um…" Edward began slowly. He looked so uncomfortable, so shy. I had never seen him like this before. What was making him feel this way? I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"This is for you." He held the red rose out to me, smiling. I smiled back and took it gently. My fingers stroked one of the vibrant petals; it was so soft and silky.

Edward reached out and took my hand in his. We stared into each other eyes for several moments, and before I knew it, he was sweeping me off my feet. Literally.

"You know, I can walk without help," I said as he carried me at a human pace to the gazebo.

"I don't think you can. At least not here. Have you noticed how bumpy this stone walkway is?" he teased, looking down toward the ground, and smirking.

I rolled my eyes.

"But…" he continued. "I can put you'd down if you don't want me to carry you…" he trailed of. Then he gave me a knowing smile.

"I'm okay," I said in a small voice; my gaze was trapped in his eyes. He laughed and set me down on a chair.

I broke away from his intense stare, a little dazed to find myself in the gazebo already.

"I cooked you dinner all by myself," he said proudly, gesturing to the plate in front of me. I breathed in the incredible smell, realizing how hungry I actually was.

"What is it?" I asked, unfamiliar with the dish that was waiting to be eaten.

His face fell. "Does it look bad? There was no picture in the cook book and I didn't have time to look it up on the internet—"

"No, Edward, it looks delicious," I said quickly, cutting him off. "I just want to know the ingredients. My nose can't identify each smell perfectly," I teased.

"Oh," he said, relieved. "Well this here has crab, shrimp, sherry wine, sharp cheddar cheese, and paprika. And this is green beans, bacon, shallot, garlic, sherry wine again, Dijon mustard, goat cheese, feta cheese, and cranberries. Oh, and this one…"

He continued with his list of ingredients and I smiled at him with amusement. Edward seemed so excited that he had cooked me a meal, but also a little worried that it wouldn't taste right. After all, even if he had tried it first, he couldn't tell if I would enjoy it or not. He'd think it was repulsive.

I stuck my fork into one of the green beans and lifted it to my mouth. Edward abruptly stopped speaking, and it looked like he was holding his breath as I took my first bite.

I crunched down on the bean and grimaced.

"It's horrible, I knew it!" he said in an agonized voice.

I shook my head and he waited anxiously for me to finish chewing and swallowing to I could answer. Then I narrowed my eyes. He looked genuinely scared.

"You stole my one and only talent over you," I accused. "This is a million times better than anything I can make."

He laughed, relieved. We sat in silence for a few moments while I ate.

"So." I was starting to feel full and was ready to speak. "How did you get a statue of me—that is without a doubt so expensive I don't want to know the price—so quickly?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Jasper helped with that…"

I shook my head in disbelief.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

I sighed but smiled. "I love it Edward. I can't believe you had a _statue _of _me_ made."

"After tonight I'll keep it in _my_ yard. Then I'll be able to look at you when I'm not with you." He stopped and thought for a moment.

"Although, it's no where near as beautiful as you are."

I rolled my eyes again.

"Definitely not," I replied sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes in return.

I paused for a moment, then decided to ask a question that had been on my mind all day.

"What is all this for?"

His smile faltered the tiniest bit and I barely had time to register it before he smiled a little too brightly.

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently. "I just wanted to be alone with you."

"Edward, you can lie to anyone but me. What's your reason for doing all this?" I asked again.

He suddenly stood up, looking much more than a little worked up.

"I almost forgot, I made you dessert. We can talk more after you eat it. Just let me go grab it."

He took my plate.

"Edward—"

"I'll be back shortly."

"No, Edward—"

But he was gone. I sighed. Why was he so nervous? Never had I seen Edward loose his cool like that. It frightened me. Whatever he needs to say must be huge.

Before I had a chance to ponder any longer, Edward returned.

He took his hand from behind his back and placed a blob in front of me.

"This is called a cupcake," he stated. I looked down at it blankly. It was a very deflated cupcake, if you could call it that at all.

"Emmett told me it's the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted in his human life and he assured me you'd love it, too."

I picked it up and my fingers searched for the paper cup, but found no purchase. I held it up at eyelevel. No paper.

"Um…Edward…"

He became worried again.

"How exactly did you make this?"

He responded in a cautious voice.

"I mixed the ingredients together, poured the mixture into the holes, and put them in the oven for twenty minutes. Then I put that blue and purple stuff all over the top."

"I see," I said, smiling hugely.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, still so worried.

"Did you put anything in the tray before you put in the batter?"

He shook his head.

"Well, I buttered it if that's what you mean."

I shook my head, a half smile on my face.

"Edward, you need to put paper cups in the holes first, and _then_ you pour the batter into the cups."

His eyes widened in horror.

"Did I kill them?" he demanded in a whisper.

I laughed. "No, they should taste fine."

I took a cautious bite. It was hard and chewy. I plastered a fake smile on my face as I chewed.

"Delicious!" I lied after swallowing.

"Excellent," he grinned.

I put the cupcake-looking item down and stared at Edward levelly.

"Answer my question now, please."

"You don't like the cupcake?" he asked, trying to avoid the subject.

I glared at him frostily.

"Answer. My. Question. Right. Now."

He stared at me for endless moments before he took a deep breath and finally spoke.

"I'm actually going to tell you my condition."

I blinked, eyes wide. He did all this so we could discuss his condition on the subject of my transformation? Was he buttering me up or something?

"Continue," I encouraged.

He fidgeted with the end of the table cloth.

"I wanted to ask you a question…" he started. His next words were so rushed I ad trouble catching them all.

"This would be completely unfair to you if you planned to stay human. But I'd probably still end up asking you. But since you'll be the same as me, it would be acceptable for us to do this. I'll understand if you say no—Carlisle can just change you. If I were you, I would say no. I'm so undeserving of you that I have no right to ask this, but—"

"Edward, Edward stop," I cut him off. "Just ask me."

He took another deep breath.

"Alright. Close your eyes, then."

I did as he asked, and my heart picked up in speed. I felt his hand on mine and felt something hard and cold sliding against one of my fingers.

He held my and wordlessly for a minute more, than said softly, "Open your eyes."

I did as he asked and stared into his eyes.

"Isabella Marie Swan…" he said. "Will you marry me?"

I stopped breathing. Stiffly, my head turned down to stare at my hand where a ring had been slid onto my finger.

I had to admit, the ring was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I had ever seen.

But he had asked me to marry him. Marriage. At age eighteen. Not even out of high school.

"Bella?" he asked worriedly when I didn't answer.

I tried to think of someway to say no, yet make him understand why that was my answer.

But before I had to think much longer, Edward spoke.

"Damn! Charlie's pulling into the drive-way!"

I froze all over again. Could this get any worse?

Within three seconds I was sitting on my bed.

"Don't let him see the backyard," Edward said, sitting on my bed beside me.

"This is a horrible time to leave, but I'll be back in as soon as possible."

"Bells?" Charlie called from downstairs.

Edward kissed me quickly and was gone.

I leaned against the wall as sunk to the floor shakily. Marriage. Marriage! That was his condition!

My bedroom door opened and I leapt up.

"Bella?" Charlie asked, surprised. "Why are you all dressed up?"

"Uh…" I could barely think straight. "Alice dressed me up for fun." Yeah, excellent excuse Bella. Great job.

He narrowed his eyes. "Alice? Where is she?"

"Right here!" an enthusiastic voice said from behind Charlie.

I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I heard Alice's voice, and mouthed thank you. She winked.

Charlie smiled at her, then turned to me.

"One more hour, tops," he said sternly. "You have school tomorrow. I'm going to bed right now."

I nodded my head as he turned to go.

Alice shut the door and came quickly to my side. She wrapped her arms around me.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about this right now, but…" she said as we sat down on my bed.

"Can you tell me why you don't want to marry Edward?"

I breathed a shaky breath and told Alice every reason I had for not wanting to get married so soon.

***********

As soon as Alice left, I got ready for bed. This day had been exhausting, and I was ready for some sleep.

Right before I turned out my light, I removed the ring I was still wearing and set it on my bedside table.

Bad idea.

'**Kay, this is all my sister has written so far. She's working on the next chapter, so it should be up…tomorrow? I think. **

**-Maiya**


	9. Chapter 9 The Ring

**A/N: Hey guys! Let Adriana and me know how much you like this story. She loves reading the reviews. You of course don't have to review, but we'd like you to. Also, there should be updates at least twice a week now. Thank you for reading this! **

**Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer!**

EPOV

"What'd she say?" Emmett asked me.

We had just finished taking down everything in the backyard. The statue was now sitting in my backyard; I could see it perfectly from my bedroom window. Emmett, Jasper and I were still standing beside Bella's house. I shot a quick glance at my watch. Two A.M.. I could hear Bella breathing slowly and deeply from her bedroom, fast asleep.

At eleven, Alice had come back to the house. She told me she had been talking with Bella all evening. Alice didn't say anything else, so I searched into her thoughts for more details, only to find she was doing some extreme math in her head.

_thirty-four to the power of seventy-six…thirty-four to the power of ninety-two…_

She was keeping something from me. I tried harder and harder to hear her thoughts, when she suddenly announced she was going hunting. Before I had the chance to blink, she was out the door, and only minutes later, she was much too far away for me to read her thoughts.

"Edward?" Emmett asked again, pulling me back to the present.

"Mhm?" I prompted, only semi-concentrating.

"What did Bella say when you asked her to marry you?"

Emmett's words were like a splash of cold water on my face. I blinked and focused all my attention on him. Jasper and Emmett stared at me intently while waiting for my answer.

"Nothing," I breathed. "She said nothing."

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Emmett swallowed, and then said, "Nothing? What do you mean?"

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers.

"I slid the ring onto her finger and _then_ asked her if she would marry me. All she did was stare, and then Charlie pulled up. I put her on her bed and then took off."

Emmet began to laugh, and I narrowed my eyes.

"Smooth, bro. Real smooth," he snickered. Jasper tried to keep a straight face, but his lips were pressed together and his body trembled from his silent laughter.

"Why'd you put the ring on first?" Emmett asked between laughs.

I sighed deeply and ran my hand through my hair.

"I don't know!" I moaned. I had dreamed of seeing my mother's ring on her finger ever since I realized I loved her. And seeing her sitting there looking so beautiful, I felt like I _needed_ to see the ring on her immediately, and I just couldn't stop myself from reaching out and sliding it on to her delicate finger.

Jasper spoke for the first time.

"How long was she silent?"

I thought back to a few hours ago.

"About fifteen seconds." What had her pause meant? Was she overwhelmed? And if so, overwhelmed with what? Joy? Or was it shock? Worry? Fear?

"Maybe she was just surprised, Edward," Jasper said, sensing my emotions. He sent a wave of calm over me, and I felt a bit better. It was easier to think with a clear mind.

"Charlie has great timing," Emmett grinned, his easy-going nature unaffected by my distress.

I groaned and I let my head fall into my hands.

"Just a more few seconds—that's all I needed." If Charlie had not come home earlier than he had planned, would Bella have said yes to me? Or would it have been a no?

Jasper patted my back.

"Me and Em are going back to the house. We'll leave you alone with Bella."

Emmett punched my arm.

"It's all gonna work out, man," he assured me. I nodded, not sure if I believed him.

"See you two later," I said as they began to sprint away.

I turned back toward the half-opened window of Bella's room. Taking a deep breath, I jumped up into a tree and swung myself into the bedroom.

My mood lightened immediately when I saw her. Her eyelashes cast long shadows on her face, and her chest rose and fell with every deep breath she took. Her soft, full lips were slightly parted, and seeing them made me want to cross the room and lightly kiss them.

"Edward," she sighed.

My heart fluttered. It was the first time since I'd been back in Forks that I had heard her speak my name in her sleep.

"I'm sorry," she continued, puzzling me. What did she have to be sorry for? I listened on.

"I can't marry you."

My entire body froze. My world came to a standstill. My eyes prickled with dry tears that could not be shed.

In my peripheral vision, something glinted, sending a small rainbow to the ceiling. I glanced toward it, and my eyes took in the view of my mother's wedding ring, sitting on the bedside table.

I walked forward without realizing it and reached out for the piece of jewelry. I stared at the item in my hand with hurt and sorrow. This little article had meant so much to me throughout the last century. I looked at it everyday, and dreamed of giving it to my own special someone as long as I remembered.

My fingers curled around it, and my hand turned over.

Then I dropped the ring that had gone from meaning everything to meaning nothing on the ground.

BPOV

I woke up in an excellent mood—mostly because of the dream I had. Just last night I had been worried about marriage. Yes, I wanted to be with him forever, but I couldn't stand the thought of getting _married_; at least not at age 18. I started out in the dream with shaky hands as I told Edward I didn't want to marry him. He had started to walk away, shoulders hunched, just as Alice popped into the dream. She asked me why I wouldn't do one little thing that wouldn't make a difference to me, but would make Edward incredibly happy. I ran up to Edward, then told him I loved him more than anything and would certainly marry him. Dream Edward kissed me, and I woke up smiling.

I shuddered now, depressed at the thought of telling Edward I didn't want to marry him. After all, dream Alice was very right. He clearly wanted this a lot, and I had been planning on crushing his hopes.

Sitting up, I touched my finger, trying to feel for the ring. I felt an overwhelming sense of emptiness when I realized it wasn't there.

_You took it off last night, stupid_,I scolded myself. Sighing at my own stupidity, I reached to the side, feeling for Edward's mother's ring. _My_ ring. When my hands came up empty, I got out of bed to turn on the light.

The room brightened immediately and I squinted my half-asleep eyes as I looked toward the table.

No ring.

I glanced around the room frantically, and sighed in relief when I saw it on the floor by the window. I picked it up and slid it onto my finger as I pondered why it would be all the way over here.

My breath caught. Edward wouldn't have seen it…would he have?

Before I could dwell on that thought any longer, there was a loud knock on my door.

"Come in," I called, hiding my hand behind my back.

Charlie's head poked in the room, followed by his body. I couldn't help but grimace—I wasn't ready for the talk about Edward yet.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be up," he started.

"Mmm," I assented.

We stood in awkward silence for a few moments before Charlie spoke.

"I'm guessing you know what I'd like to talk about?"

I sighed and scolded myself when I realized I had been hoping he'd hold off just a little longer.

"Yes."

Charlie took a seat in the rocking chair while I stood beside the window, still holding my hand behind me.

"Bella…"

I waited patiently.

"I'd like it if you'd stay away from him."

I gasped. That was completely out of the question.

"No, Dad! I won't! He's—"

"He _left_ you, Bella!" Charlie yelled, cutting me off.

"Because he thought I didn't love him anymore!" I shot back.

Charlie looked a little taken aback. It took me a moment to realize I had said the word 'love'. Never before had I told Charlie I was in love with Edward.

Taking a deep breath, Charlie spoke again.

"Do you really?" he asked, with genuine curiosity.

I held my hands out helplessly and shrugged my shoulders. My eye caught the ring that was now in front of me, and I quickly threw my hands behind my back again. Charlie noticed my hastiness and became suspicious.

"What's behind your back, Bella?" he asked through narrowed eyes.

"Nothing." But I spoke too quickly, giving myself away.

"Bella," Charlie said, using the most fatherly tone I had heard in a long time.

I bit my lip.

"Isabella Marie Swan."

There was too much authority in his voice for me to ignore.

Wordlessly, I held my left hand out to him. The light from the window shone on the ring, creating an elegant rainbow and enhancing the event.


	10. Chapter 10 Evil

**A/N: Okay, I'm warning you in advance, you will be extremely pissed off at the end of this little chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight**

BPOV

"Don't think I'm finished talking about this," Charlie warned me as he exited my room, slamming the door behind him.

After an hour of uncivilized discussion with my father that made no progress whatsoever, I needed a hot shower to relax my tense muscles. I grasped the handle on my dresser drawer and pulled it out a little too roughly; the drawer came all the way out and hit the floor with a bang.

I grabbed some clothes and left the drawer there before making my way to the bathroom.

I tried not to think of my dispute with Charlie as the hot water poured over me, but, of course, I had no success.

It angered me beyond belief that Charlie thought he was the one who decided who I did and didn't marry. After telling me that in no way would he ever allow me to marry Edward, he decided to remind me that Jacob and I got along great.

And Charlie's not-so-subtle way of telling me I should marry Jacob was the last straw. I started yelling at him, too, and it got us no where. Now we were as angry as ever at each other, and it was going to take a lot to fix it.

I loud knock on the glass of the shower door snapped me out of my thoughts. Before I could scream, a loud voice spoke.

"Hey, Bella! What's up?" Emmett boomed.

I let out a gush of air and tried to make my heart calm down.

"Alice called and told me to come get you," Emmett announced.

"Jesus, Emmett!" I hissed. "It couldn't wait until I was out of the shower?"

I shut of the water as he spoke again.

"Well, Alice made it pretty obvious that she wanted you now," he said in a relaxed tone, not really sure what was the problem with him hanging out in my bathroom whole I showered.

"Fine, then. I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay."

I waited for the sound of Emmett's retreating form but only heard his cheerful whistling. With the palm of my hand I rubbed away some of the fog on the door so I could see out into the room.

Emmett stood with his back to me as he picked up my bottles of hair and body products, investigating the use of each one. I sighed exasperatingly.

"Emmett."

"Yup?" he asked, popping the P.

"Wait in the front yard, please."

"Why?" he asked, sounding hurt.

My patience was at its minimum right now.

"You know, on second thought, stay here while I step out of the shower and make sure you follow me back to my room," I replied sarcastically.

"Oh," he said. I could tell by his voice that he was grinning at my discomfort. "Right."

As soon as the bathroom door closed I grabbed a towel and dried off.

What did Alice have planned for me today? All I wanted was to be with Edward. I had hardly seen him yesterday, and I was desperate to give him an actual answer to the marriage thing. If Alice had more shopping planned, there's no way I'm going with her. Not today.

After dressing in a plain tee-shirt and jeans, I tip-toed quietly down the stairs. When there was no sign of Charlie, I made a run for the door. And then stopped dead in my tracks.

_What the heck?_

The door was nailed over with one board, and a camcorder pointing toward the door lay poorly disguised on the table. Had Charlie lost his mind? This wasn't like him. And had he forgotten I had school today?

Groaning, I ran back up the stairs to the window.

"Emmett," I said evenly. I waited for him to appear.

"Emmett?"

Where was he? I leaned out the window a little and squinted my eyes, trying to find him.

"Boo!" he yelled, suddenly popping up right in front of me.

I shrieked and fell backward, landing on my behind. Emmett laughed harder than I'd ever heard him before, but I resisted the urge to hit him, knowing it would hurt me and feel like a gust of air to him. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose.

"Can you please help me out the window?" I pleaded, trying to act like nothing had happened.

Emmett just continued to laugh.

"You should have seen you're face! It looked like one of those fish that get all fat and puffy!" he burst out before launching into a new set of guffaws.

"Emmett!" I snapped, tired of this nonsense.

Still laughing, he picked me up in his arms, holding me like a baby. With a jump that threw us into the trees, we were off. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut. Running with Edward was a lot more pleasant than being in the careless arms of Emmett.

Before I knew it, we were at the Cullen house.

Alice ran out the door and immediately grabbed me in a tight hug. When she pulled back, I could see pain and sadness written all over her face.

"What is it, Alice?" I demanded.

"Oh Bella," she said, sobbing tearless sobs. "Edward is dead."

**From Adriana: Okay, that was a joke. Erase the last three paragraphs from your mind, they aren't true. I'll try to post a bit more tonight. If not, I'll post tomorrow!**


	11. Chapter 11 Gone

**Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to SM**

_Running with Edward was a lot more pleasant than being in the careless arms of Emmett. _

_Before I knew it, we were at the Cullen house._

Alice came running out the door as soon as we were stopped.

"Took you long enough," she snapped at Emmett.

He shrugged, unworried.

Then Alice turned to me.

"Bella, don't panic, okay? Keep a straight head."

I nodded carefully. Alice took a deep breath.

"Okay, well I'm not exactly sure what happened, but Edward must have—"

She stopped suddenly, looking at my hand.

"You're wearing the ring," she said slowly.

I smiled. "Yeah, I am."

She looked back up at my face and narrowed her eyes questioningly.

"I had a dream last night that kind of changed my perspective on things."

Alice's eyes closed and she took a deep, long breath through her nose. Her fingers rubbed circles on her temples.

"I don't know whether to be happy or angry about that," she finally said.

"Alice, what's going on?" I was starting to get really worried. Whatever was wrong, it obviously had something to do with Edward. I felt all the blood drain from my face. My fingers gripped Alice's shoulders with all the strength I could manage.

"What happened? Where's Edward?"

After a moment more of silence, she finally answered me.

"On a plane."

"What?" I asked, completely lost. "Why?"

"Esme and Carlisle are on their way to get him. All he wanted was to get away."

I felt myself sink to the ground. Alice caught me before I hit the wet grass.

Tears which quickly turned to sobs ran down my face as Alice patted my back soothingly.

"He—he left me _again_?" I wailed. "Why? I don't understand! He..he pro—proposed to me!"

"Shh…Bella, shh…" Alice continued.

"I don't understand it at all either. I couldn't see him for some reason until he was to far away for us to stop him. My best guess is he somehow found out that you didn't want to marry him."

"But I didn't tell anyone but you, Alice!" I sobbed.

"I know." She sounded frustrated. "Don't worry, though. Carlisle and Esme will bring him home."

I cried a little longer, until Alice gasped. I lifted my head up to meet her eyes.

"What?" I asked with little emotion.

"You didn't dream of telling him you didn't want to get married…did you?"

I looked down. "Yes, that was part of it. How did you—"

I stopped short when it all dawned on me.

"He heard me talking in my sleep," I whispered.


	12. Chapter 12 Announcement

bChapter 26 BPOV/b

I slept on the Cullen's white sofa until two in the afternoon. My body felt absolutely exhausted. It was amazing how quickly things could change in less than twelve hours. Just this morning, I had been so excited about giving Edward a formal answer, while during that time, he was probably in another continent.

I sighed and stretched as Alice came and sat down beside me. She gazed at me sympathetically and stroked my hair.

"How was your sleep?" she asked.

"Not very good," I whispered. I had been sleeping for almost five hours, yet my body felt as though I hadn't slept in days. Thankfully, I did not dream. If I had, the dreams would have most likely not been peaceful at all.

"Have you talked to Carlisle and Esme?" I asked. The hope that layered my voice was obvious.

Alice nodded and said, "They know where Edward is and—"

"Which is where?" I demanded, cutting her off.

She sighed and gave me a dirty look before continuing. "He's in an attic in Australia. Anyway, as I was saying, they need to figure out how to sneak up on him before he runs again. We really don't want to play a game of chase here." I nodded thoughtfully.

"Can't they just think, 'Bella wants to marry you', or something like that?"

Alice had begun to shake her head before I was finished speaking. "He'll probably think they're lying to him through they're thoughts."

"Oh."

We sat in silence for a long time.

"What time is it Alice?" I finally asked her.

"Two-thirty," she answered automatically.

"I need to get home before Charlie does. He's going to wonder how I got out with the boarded up door still intact."

Alice looked at me questioningly.

"Boarded up door?"

I nodded. "When I went downstairs—"

Emmett's booming laughter interrupted my sentence.

Alice rolled her eyes dramatically and looked at me. "Well, we obviously know Charlie wasn't the culprit," she said.

The sound level of Emmett's guffaws increased and I covered my ears.

"Emmett!" Alice yelled. "Keep that up and the whole town will hear you!"

I started to laugh, too.

"You're lucky Carlisle and Esme aren't here to..." I trailed off.

An idea came to mind and my body froze.

"Yes!" Alice hissed, grinning at me. I grinned back. She must have seen my plan in a vision, and saw that it was a success.

Emmett finally stopped laughing and sat down beside Alice and I.

"What?" he asked.

"I have an idea," I said, still grinning. Emmett looked at me expectantly.

I took a deep breath before speaking. "I think the only way we can convince Edward is if he hears ime/i."

"So you're saying that you'll talk on the phone to Edward?" he asked, confused.

I shook my head. "No, because Esme and Carlisle would have to bring him the phone, and once Edward heard them, he's run. We could, however, have them set up a loud speaker. We could hook the telephone up to that and he'd be able to hear me from far away, without being able to hear any of our thoughts."

Emmett chuckled diabolically. "Excellent idea, though it's a bit out there for your taste, isn't it?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, but it should work."

"You know Edward won't be the only one who can hear you," Emmett reminded me. "All the humans will hear, too."

"As long as it brings Edward home, I don't care."

Alice began to squeal.

"Oooh, we should totally hook up a webcam to a huge screen so he can see you, too! Like a billboard! And we need to get the loudest sound projectors possible! Oh this is going to be so much fun!"

"Alice," I groaned. "Is it really so necessary that the whole city sees my face?"

"No, but it's necessary for Edward to." She grinned at me evilly, knowing she had me there.

I let out a gush of breath I had been holding. "Fine," I muttered.

After that, Alice got onto the phone with Carlisle and Esme, and made sure they would make this as huge—and embarrassing, the way I saw it—as possible.


	13. Chapter 13 Come Home

**Disclaimer : Everything Twilight belongs to SM**

**Here's a little more you guys. Enjoy. Oh, and I'm going to be posting a song with the lyrics that fit the chapter at the beginning of each update from now on.**

**When You're Gone**, by **Avril Lavigne**

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missing you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missing too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day_

_And make it ok  
I miss you_

**EPOV**

Immortality.

After much thought, I had come to the conclusion that Bella wanted immortality more than me. And after she got it, she'd probably run away from me forever.

My chest felt tight at the thought. What on earth had I been thinking all this time? Someone as amazing and beautiful as Bella wouldn't ever love someone as boring and monstrous as me.

The scary part of all this was the fact that I still wanted to pursue her, to try and win her affection. And even if I never saw her again, her face would be in my mind forever. I'd spend the next thousand years watching her from a far, trying to make myself better. Trying to make myself good enough for her.

I laughed bitterly at the sheer impossibility of being good enough for Bella. It would never happen, no matter how hard I tried. And, again, it scared me to think that I would undoubtedly continue to try.

My head bowed in remorse.

"Edward." My head snapped up at the sound of Bella's voice, loud and clear, yet far away. I listened for a few seconds more, and then shook my head with a bitter smile on my lips. It appeared I was going crazy.

"Edward Cullen." The smile was wiped off my face the second I heard her voice again, still clear and distant, but much sharper than the first time.

"Come on, follow my voice. Alice says you're still sitting there."

My eyebrows pushed together with confusion. None of this made any sense.

"Edward, get your lazy butt off the ground this minute and follow my voice." This was definitely not Bella's voice. This time it was Alice. "And move over, Bella," Alice continued. Still confused, I obeyed and started to walk in the direction I heard them speak.

"Good God, finally! We don't have all day here. Bella needs to get home to Charlie. Come on, move faster."

I broke into a run and let my ears take over, listening to Alice's angry voice as it guided me to the place it was coming from.

I stopped dead in my tracks once I reached a clearing of trees. There, across the road, was an enormous screen, almost identical to the ones in time square. Alice's angry face was blown up a million times. The background was undoubtedly the living room of my house. Beside the screen were two huge sound projectors, probably thirty feet tall. I didn't even know they were made that size.

"Edward, you are so lucky there's a sea separating us right now," Alice said venomously. The sound was so loud it almost hurt my ears. "When you come back, you are dead meat, I swear—"

Bella's voice spoke then, cutting Alice off.

"I can take it from here. Thank you."

Alice's head turned toward the right before turning back to me and giving me a warning glare. Then she stood up and was out of the picture.

Bella's beautiful face appeared then, and my chest ached as I longed to be with her.

"Edward, I have a couple things to say to you," she said, almost as loud as Alice had been. I glanced around me and saw many people lining the streets, staring up at the screen.

"First of all, I love you." Her face became soft and innocent and lovely. "I love you more than anything or anyone, and I want nothing more than to marry you this second." My eyes began to prickle with tears that could not be shed as I felt the truth in her words, and as I registered the love spilling out of her eyes. I felt as though I was flying.

"Next, I would love to say 'meet me in Vegas', but Alice won't allow me to have a wedding like that. So it seems, much to my disappointment, we'll have to wait a little longer." The corner of my lips curved up, and I had to work hard to fight back a laugh. My happy mood disappeared as soon as the next words left Bella's mouth.

"And finally, I have something to say that I need you to answer when you get home." She took a deep breath, and tears filled her eyes. "How could you leave me for the second time? You promised me never again. When Alice told me you were gone, my heart broke, just when it had been healing. Today's been hell, Edward." She paused, then smiled slightly. "Especially being in the company of Emmett. He broke into my house, and then boarded up the doors."

Emmett's laughter that was loud to begin with boomed through the sound projectors so loudly that the ground shook. The people on the streets covered their ears, as did I.

A white arm shot across the screen, pushing Bella away. Alice's face appeared again.

"Get your butt back here right now. You've got it in for you when you return."

Bella's face appeared beside Alice's. "I love you so much," she said. Then the screen went blank.


	14. Chapter 14 Insignificant

**Hello again guys. So I haven't posted for quite a few days, but I have been so, so, so busy, you can't even imagine. My grandma was just moved into a hospice, so things are pretty emotional for me right now. On top of that I have exams in University, and my job. So I've been staying up until 1 almost every night, and waking up at 6.  
**

**And, one last thing: Comments. Thank you to all of those who comment. I'm sorry I don't reply to all of them, but I do read each and every one. I really appreciate them, and they do encourage me to write more. So thank you to all those who have been commenting, and to those who may comment in the future.**

**Disclaimer: twilight belongs to S.M.**

"**Sorry" by "Buckcherry"**

_I had a lot to say_

_Was thinking on my time away_

_I miss you and things weren't the same_

_Cuz everything inside_

_It never comes out right_

_And when I see you cry_

_It makes me wanna die_

*******

We arrived in Seattle at 7:30 PM. I walked as quickly as possible through the airport—as quickly as was possible for a human. I was dying to run at an inhuman speed to my Bella. Carlisle and Esme walked behind me, acting as though they were in no rush. I glanced around frantically looking for Bella, but she was no where I could see. Each second that passed made me more and more impatient. I was almost jittery with anticipation, and had been this way since boarding the plane in Australia.

Neither Carlisle nor Esme had been very happy with me. They were furious that I had caused Bella pain, once again. I couldn't blame them the least bit; I hated myself for acting so irrationally. There had been only one thought in my mind after hearing Bella's voice while she dreamt. _Get away_. The ache in my chest had been so fierce that I could barely keep from falling. But what was I supposed to think when she said, as clearly as if she were awake, that she couldn't marry me? Was I supposed to know she felt otherwise?

Again, it was stupid of me to run to another continent. I should have waited until morning to talk to her. I was so undeserving of this girl, yet she still wanted me more than I could ever understand. But really, who could have known what she was really dreaming about that night? Only her. And I planned to ask her about it today.

Suddenly two hands were on my shoulders, squeezing with vampire strength. I looked down into the furious black eyes of Alice.

"You are so lucky we are in a place with witnesses," she hissed, tightening her grip on me.

"Alice," I said pleadingly. "I'm so sorry—"

"Oh, save it," she growled, cutting me off. "It's always the same thing with you. God, you're so selfish some times, Edward."

"I know—" I tried again, but Alice refused to listen to me.

"Don't even talk to me right now, Edward," she warned through clenched teeth. "One more excuse or apology, and I'll attack you right here."

There was no doubt she was telling the truth. But, despite myself, I sighed. Alice released my shoulders, only to grab my hand and start towing me toward the food court.

"And we'll be talking later," she said in a low voice. "All of us." I swallowed, no longer able to cover up any of the fear I had.

I craned my neck, looking for Carlisle and Esme. They were no where in sight. I looked back at Alice, about to ask where Bella was, but then bit my tongue. She had specifically told me not to speak to her.

"She's at the food court with Jasper. She's been here since the webcam thing, since we didn't know when you were coming back or when your flight would arrive."

I let my head fall forward, ashamed and guilty. Jasper's angry thoughts cut into my mind.

_Alice was nothing, compared to what she'll be like tonight Edward._

My head snapped up and I looked toward the direction of his thoughts. My eyes met Jasper's for a quarter of a second, and then they were only for Bella. She sat in a little booth with Jasper, her head resting on his shoulders as she absentmindedly picked at a sandwich. And she look completely and utterly exhausted. I stood in place, completely frozen. My feet wouldn't move.

Jasper touched her arm gently and then pointed at me. Bella suddenly came to life, all the exhaustion leaving her face. Her wide, chocolate eyes met mine, and a huge, breathtaking smile lit up her face. My lips curved up a tiny bit, but I could not find it in myself to give more than a half hearted smile. Yes, I couldn't be more happy to be with her again, but I was also wallowing in guilt and embarrassment.

Bella shot up out of her seat and ran toward me. I opened my arms as she approached me—my feet still refused to move an inch—and she jumped into them with more enthusiasm than I'd ever seen her with. Her arms clung to my neck, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. One of my hands pressed against the small of her back and the other stroked her hair. Quiet sobs broke from her throat, and I felt my heart break at her pain. She didn't deserve all this sorrow I was giving her.

"Shh," I murmured as I continued to stroke her.

"I missed you so much," she whispered, voice cracking. "I thought you'd left for good."

Another piece of my heart broke. "Bella, I…I'm sorry. "

"I forgive you," she whispered. "You'd never leave forever."

When I didn't respond, she looked up at me curiously.

"Right?"

I hesitated. "No," I finally said. "Unless you really didn't want to marry me," I added with a smirk.

She started. "What if it had been different?"

I squinted my eyes in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What if I didn't want to marry you for other reasons? Like maybe if I was too scared to marry you?" She stared into my eyes as if she were trying to look straight into my soul.

A short laugh escaped my mouth when I thought of Bella being scared of marriage. Her best friends were vampires, after all.

"Well," I said, smiling and trying to lighten the mood. "If you were too scared to marry me, then you wouldn't be fit enough to have seven vampires in your life."

I expected her to laugh, but she didn't. A shocked gasp broke from her lips.

"I don't think you understand what I'm saying," she said, her voice hardening the tiniest bit. "If I didn't want to marry you, but I wanted you to stay with me, you'd leave me?"

"Bella, why are we talking about this?" I asked, starting to become just a little uncomfortable.

"Just answer me, Edward."

I pretended to think about it for a minute, causing Bella's eyes to widen.

"I'd understand if you were too scared to marry me. I wouldn't expect something like that from you—I don't deserve you at all. If you didn't want to marry me, you wouldn't want me to say with you either, whether you knew it consciously or not. So, I suppose I would leave so you could get older and marry someone else." It hurt to say these words, but Bella wanted to know the truth. And that right there truth in its purest, most honest form.

Bella abruptly let go of me and dropped back down to the floor. Her face was carefully expressionless as she stared up at me. I stared back in confusion. Had she not wanted to know the truth?

_That complete _idiot_! Is he really that insensitive?! _ I turned around and was shocked to see Jasper holding Alice back. She looked about ready to lunge at me.

Carlisle and Esme appeared then. Esme's thoughts were beyond fury. She didn't let it show when she spoke to Bella, though.

"Lets get you home, dear," she said. "I understand Charlie wants to talk to you tonight?"

Bella nodded, looking exhausted again. "Unfortunately, yes."

Esme put an arm around Bella and began to walk toward the parking lot. But I took her hand and pulled her back to me. "Did what I said upset you?" I demanded.

She laughed without humor. "That's an understatement." She started to turn, and I stopped her again.

"I'll take it back, Bella," I said pleadingly. "Would that make you happier?"

"Would your decision change?"

"Well..." I cleared my throat. "No, I…no not exactly. But—"

"Then my answer is no, too."

Esme took her arm and started to drag her along again.

"Bella—" I started to say. Esme turned her head so that she could glare at me.

"She needs to get home, Edward."

Carlisle put a hand on my shoulder and we followed them in silence. He was blocking his thoughts from me, going through a dictionary of medical terms. Alice and Jasper walked behind us, Jasper still keeping a hold on his beloved. All thoughts were being blocked from me, with the exception of Alice, who was shooting profanities at me.

Once we reached the Mercedes, Carlisle and Esme sat in the front. Bella slid into the back first, and just as I was about to follow her in, Alice put an arm out in front of me, blocking my way. She got in first, followed by Jasper. Leaving me to get in last, and disabling me from sitting near Bella.

The car ride home was tense. I did not know what had everyone so angry, but I was smart enough not to ask. I'd know soon enough. Maybe too soon.

As soon as we pulled into Bella's driveway, she opened her door and jumped out.

"Thank you Carlisle and Esme. So much."

They both smiled and nodded. Then Bella closed the door and ran to the door of her house. Seeing her go…I couldn't let her.

I pushed the door of the car open so roughly that it came off and hit the ground with a loud thud. Bella stiffened and turned back to me robotically.

"Edward!" Alice yelled. "Get back in this car or so help me I will—" I barely even listened to her as I ran up the porch steps to Bella. She looked down at her feet. I took her hands in mine and twined out fingers together, trying to make her meet my gaze.

"Bella," I said. She didn't move.

"Bella, please talk to me. I don't know what I did."

She looked at me, finally, angry tears brewing in her eyes.

"Think about it, Edward."

My brow furrowed. I _had _been thinking about it. For the past half hour.

"Bella, I—"

She held up her hand, and I stopped talking immediately.

"I'm tired. I'm hungry. Charlie wants to talk. And I'm not very happy with you at this moment. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She turned on her heels and pushed open the door, only to quickly slam it in my face. I stood there like an idiot, trying to put my jumbled mind back together. What just happened?

Turning around, I realized the Mercedes was gone, leaving me to walk home and face whatever was coming.

**Alice's POV**

"He'll be here in twenty-four seconds," I said in a monotone voice.

Everyone nodded at me. We were all sitting at the dining room table, waiting for Edward to get home. Of course, we never used this table for eating. It was more like a conference room to us. We would definitely be needing it tonight, to deal with Edward's stupidity.

The most annoying part of all this was that he didn't have a clue what he did wrong. Not even an inkling! How could he be so ignorant? God, what would he be like if he was unable to read everyone's mind? Completely oblivious, that's for sure.

The front door slammed close, and Edward's scent whooshed into the house. I took a deep breath, preparing to talk some sense into this boy.

When he entered the dining room, he was wearing his poker face. He sat down in the one chair left, the one across from me, and looked toward Carlisle.

"Alice has the reign in this discussion," Carlisle said to him as he gestured with one hand for me to proceed.

I looked at Edward levelly. "Tell me why Bella's so mad, Edward," I said, not wasting any time.

"Because I left her and said I'd leave if she didn't want me." He had obviously thought his answer through beforehand.

"No. You're wrong."

His brow wrinkled in confusion as he waited for me to give him the correct answer. It was a good try, but I wasn't letting him off that easy.

"Now tell me why _we're_ mad."

"Because I made Bella mad?" His uncertainty made the statement a question.

I shook my head. "Not exactly."

I paused. "Think this through a bit Edward. Why. Are. We. Mad."

He growled and dropped his fist down to the table. "Damn it, Alice! Just tell me."

"Edward," Esme warned.

"God, Edward!" I yelled as I cracked. I couldn't stand his ignorance for a second more. "You're so damn selfish that you can't see why Bella's so hurt! And you're so determined to ruin her happiness as well as your own! You might think you're being noble, but you're just acting as if you're the one who control what does and doesn't happen in Bella's and your relationship! You're being a control freak!"

His jaw dropped a tiny bit. I'd never ever talked to him like that. Then the disbelief disappeared, and he became as angry as me.

"Then TELL ME what I did! I have no flipping clue what it is I've done, and I'm not going to figure it out. So _just tell me_.

"You get so scared of rejection that you just run, uncaring of what that might do to the people that love you. You think it's your decision whether Bella becomes a vampire or not. You decide whether or not Bella loves you enough to be able to keep you with her. How the hell can you know how much she loves you? You can't."

He hung his head. "I still don't understand exactly why she's upset with me," he said in a low voice.

I stared at him through narrowed eyes for a minute, deciding. He really wasn't getting it. I knew there was something that could give me a bit of leverage, but Bella would be mad if I told him. Ah, what the heck. I'd deal with that later.

"Don't say anything until I'm finished here Edward. Don't move. Alright?"

He nodded cautiously.

"Bella _was_ scared to marry you." He took a small intake of breath. "She's 18 for crying out loud, Edward. And in this time, that's very, very young to get married. And imagine her parents' reactions. They're going to be extremely mad at her. Do you think she wants her parents to be disappointed in her? The main reason she said yes is because she wants you to be happy. She said yes for you. The morning after you left, Charlie found the ring. And Bella completely defended you. She told him she'd move out if he had a problem with you. If that right there doesn't show how much she loves you, I don't know what does. So, she's pissed off because if she had said no, she knows you would have left. Again. No matter what she would have said to change your mind. I think that's one of the reasons she wants to be a vampire. So she can stop you from leaving her when you get too bloody scared."

"Please stop Alice," he whispered so quietly I could barely hear him.

"And you're selfish enough to just leave her when things get to complicated, or to difficult to deal with. You run without a word, too scared to stay any longer."

"Stop it," he whispered again.

"You _cannot_ tell her how much she does or doesn't love you! All you say is, 'Oh, I'm so un deserving of you, Bella'."

"Stop."

"And 'I won't allow you to take your life for me'. And 'Never mind. You can take your life as long as you show me your dedication by _marrying_ me!"

"Alice!" he yelled. "Stop!"

I listened to him this time, and I shut up. He was looking down, his body shaking violently. His breath came quickly, and his hands clenched the table so hard I thought it would break for sure.

We were all silent for a few moments as we gave Edward time to regain his control. I felt a little bad for making him so miserable, but this foolishness had to stop. He was always making things so much more complicated than they needed to be.

He finally spoke. "I don't understand how she could love me that much."

Before I could speak, Carlisle spoke. "_Why_, Edward? You continue to say that, over and over."

"How can she love me at all? I've killed people. I continue to hurt her. I haven't done anything for her at all. All I am is a nuisance in her life. It just doesn't make any _sense_ to me."

"Edward," Carlisle said, his tone firm. "You're a good person. Everyone makes mistakes. You killed so good, innocent people might live, correct?" Carlisle continued on without an answer. "You hurt her trying to make her happier. And you've given her the most amazing thing in the world. You gave her love." He smiled to himself, thinking. "Love is impossible to explain. It's not something we can control. When we fall in love, it usually causes us confusion, tragedy, and hurt. Yet would we trade it so that we could go back to lives of order, and certainty? No, never would we. Why? Because along with the bad things, come the most wonderful things you could ever ask for in life. Joy, faith, belonging, hope, courage, strength, peace…there's so much it can bring us. It can either enable us to conquer anything, or it can crush us. The interesting thing is that we can usually decide what it will do to us."

Edward stared at Carlisle pensively. I could tell the words were starting to get through to him. Finally.

"You're crushing yourself and Bella, Edward, when you could be flying."

Edward's eyes shut and he took a deep breath.

"It's just so hard for me to believe. I'm trying. But it's hard."

I couldn't help the little growl that escaped my mouth. Edward shot me a look.

"Edward," Esme said. "Think about what's been said. Then, when you're ready, go to Bella and talk to her."

"She'll be wide awake all night, anyway," I added as a vision flashed through my mind. Bella tossing and turning, sitting up and reading, tossing and turning…


	15. Chapter 15 You Deserve Love

disclaimer: twilight belongs to stephenie meyer

**The lyrics for this chapter are from the song "Fall to Pieces" by "Avril Lavigne". I really like the lyrics in almost all Avril Lavigne's songs, so that's why I've used two of her songs out of three posts so far. Very sorry to those of you who do not like her music. If you guys have any song suggestions, please let me know. I'm definitely open to all.**

_I looked away  
then I looked back at you,  
You tried to say  
the things that you can't undo,  
If I had my way  
I'd never get over you,  
Today's the day  
I pray that we make it through._

Make it through the fall,  
Make it through it all.

And I don't wanna fall to pieces  
I just wanna sit and stare at you.  
I don't wanna talk about it  
And I don't want a conversation  
I just wanna cry in front of you.  
I don't wanna talk about it  
'Cause I'm in love with you.

You're the only one  
I'd be with till the end.  
When I come undone  
you bring me back again.  
Back under the stars,  
Back into your arms.

And I don't wanna fall to pieces  
I just wanna sit and stare at you.  
I don't wanna talk about it  
And I don't want a conversation  
I just wanna cry in front of you.  
I don't wanna talk about it  
'Cause I'm in love with you.

Wanna know who you are,  
Wanna know where to start,  
I wanna know what this means.

Wanna know how you feel,  
Wanna know what is real.  
I wanna know everything Everything!

I don't wanna fall to pieces  
I just wanna sit and stare at you.  
I don't wanna talk about it  
And I don't want a conversation  
I just wanna cry in front of you.  
I don't wanna talk about it.

And I don't wanna fall to pieces  
I just wanna sit and stare at you.  
I don't wanna talk about it  
And I don't want a conversation  
I just wanna cry in front of you.  
and I don't wanna talk about it  
'Cause I'm in love with you.  
I'm in love with you,  
'Cause I'm in love with you.  
I'm in love with you,  
I'm in love with you

Twelve twenty-two o'clock AM.

I tried to rearrange my pillows so I could relax a bit better, and then lay back down and closed my eyes. I kept my eyes shut for what seemed like forever, resisting the urge to open them and make more accommodations to my bed. Finally, it all got to be too much, and with a sigh I opened my eyes and glanced at the clock on my bedside table. Twelve Thirty. Great.

A couple minutes later, I gave in to the fact that sleep wasn't going to come for a long while. I flipped on the light and then grabbed the first book I touched from the bookshelf. Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen. I frowned and put it back in its place. I knew the book would just make me frustrated at Edmund's blindness to Miss Crawford's mean side, and Fanny's feelings toward him. I pulled out the one that was next to it. Othello, Shakespeare. That wasn't going to work either. Othello had a trust problem with Desdemona, which caused her death. It was only too convenient that someone I loved was having a problem trusting the things I vowed to him. The next book I pulled out was put back in less than a second. It was Lady Chatterley's Lover, written by D.H. Lawrence. My face turned bright red as I remembered the day my mother had bought this book for me as a joke. All I did after unwrapping it was take one glance at the cover, and knew it was _much_ too graphic for me.

After going through book after book, I finally came upon one that seemed innocent enough. Far From The Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy. I didn't think there were any characters who really applied to me and my life. Smiling with satisfaction, I took the book with me to my bed and flipped the first page open.

A light knock at the closed window made me jump. The glass was foggy, so I wasn't sure exactly who it was. A small part of my mind said it could be Victoria.

Just to be cautious (yeah right), I whispered, "Edward?"

"Yes," came the velvety voice from the other side of the glass. The window slid open, revealing Edward's beautiful face. I wanted so much to run toward the window, and had to remind myself that I was still mad at him. It was so hard to be angry at him when I hadn't seen him all evening.

He entered my room but hesitated at the window.

"You can come in," I allowed, moving to the left side of the bed. Edward was across the room and laying beside me in one fluid movement. I could feel his gaze on me.

"Bella," he said, and I looked up. Our eyes held for a long time, until he started to move in to me. I felt my eyelids flutter close as his lips came closer and closer to mine. The moment I felt contact with his skin, my eyes snapped open and I leaned back, crossing my arms.

"I'm not looking for kisses right now, and you know it," I said, anger interlacing my voice.

Edward looked down, seeming embarrassed. "I know," he said. "I know what you're looking for, and I want to talk to you about it."

I waited for him to continue. A few more moments of silence passed before he spoke.

"I love you," he finally said, looking up to meet my gaze. He'd said the words to me before, yet it felt different this time. There was a different kind of tenor to the way he spoke, the way the words sounded. I could feel the love in his voice as he said it, and it was even more than just genuine.

But, even so, I kept my face calm and cool. "I love you, too."

"I know."

Those two little words fired my anger up once again. He really didn't know what he was talking about.

"No, you don't!" I nearly shouted the words, and after speaking them, I held my breath, listening for Charlie in the next room. Glancing back at Edward, I was surprised to find his face composed.

"You're right," he said. "I don't know. But I understand better now than I did this morning."

I raised an eyebrow in question, waiting to hear more.

"Bella..." he began again. His face crumpled into pain and self hatred. "I truly believe now that you love me more than I know. Maybe even more than I can understand. But can't you see why I might doubt that?" His eyes searched mine, trying to make me understand what he was saying. But I couldn't.

"No." I shook my head, tears burning my eyes. "No, I can't understand why, or how you could doubt how much I love you."

He laughed once without amusement. "I'll tell you exactly how I can. I hate myself."

"Edward!" My voice was quiet and strained. Tears threatened to overflow. It was amazing—and horrible—that such a beautiful creature could think so low of himself. He had such a beautiful soul, but he couldn't see it. The worst part of this was that he had never told me this before. From the first time I'd seen him, he'd hated himself. I cringed internally as I thought of what he was most likely like before I came along. The Edward who felt no one had, did, and would ever love him.

"Let me finish," he said without looking at me. "I hate what I am. I hate the fact that I've killed people." The tears flowed from my eyes in thick gushes. "I hate that you want to give up your life for me; a montstrous, selfloathing—" A short sob broke from my lips before I could stop it, and Edward looked at me for the first time through this horrid conversation.

"Why are you crying?" he whispered as he wiped the tears from my eyes. I shook my head back and forth slowly, unable to speak.

"Bella?" he whispered, pain saturating his voice. "Please...please tell me what you're thinking."

I took several deep breaths, trying to pull myself together enough to answer him. I knew I'd be in pieces by the time I finished speaking.

"It hurts me more than I've ever hurt before to know you..._hate_ yourself." My voice was already wavering, and I'd spoke all of one sentence. "I just...I just wish that you could see how beautiful you really are." The tears fell in heavy droplets from my eyes onto the quilt. I took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds before saying the next part. "You deserve to be loved so, so much Edward." My voice cracked twice. "I wish you found it long ago, even though it wouldn't have been with me. You—you're just th—the most amazing person I've ever m—met, and it isn't right th—that you've be—been su—suffering for so long. I love you so so much." I was hyperventilating and barely mouthing the words by the time I finished.

Edward reached out and embraced me in a tight hug. He kissed the top of my head and his body started to shake. I wondered if he was crying too; dry, tearless sobs. It felt like it.

"Bella—" he started. But I didn't let him say anything else.

"Shh," I whispered. "I just want to hold you and cry. I don't want to talk."

He was silent for a moment. "Okay," he whispered, voice cracking. He tightened his grip on me and let me cry.


	16. Chapter 16 Sexual Tension

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

EPOV

Dry tears pricked my eyes again as I stared at Bella's beautiful, sleeping face. My mind kept wandering back to our conversation a few hours ago, back to when I had confessed something that I had told no one else. No one. It hurt immensely for me to speak the words, but at the same time it felt as if part of me was being fixed. I was far from healed, and I didn't completely believe what Bella had told me as she cried—but I was getting there. This was something we should do more with each other. Being open was both painful and blissful, but it had an enormous effect, strangely enough.

When she woke up, I wanted to tell her more. So, so much more. I needed to promise things and confess things. We didn't talk much yesterday, but I suppose that was a good thing…

_I reached out involuntarily and took her warm, trebling body into my arms. The words she had spoken hurt me as much as they made me feel like I was flying. I kissed her hair and couldn't stop myself from crying with her. I tried to stifle the sobbing noises I was making._

I had to tell her more, comfort her, vow to her.

"Bella—" I began to say. Her hand rose to my lips, and she placed one finger over them.

"Shh. I just want to hold you and cry. I don't want to talk."

I thought about her request for a minute. She was right—talking wasn't necessary right now. And I realized all the things I wanted to say were being channeled to her through our embrace.

We needed to cry, and let out our emotions. I couldn't believe how long I'd been holding in this hate and sorrow. It was time to let it all go.

"Okay." I stroked her hair and let my feelings pour from me.

I shook my head slightly, trying to get the memory from my mind. I needed to think of something else for a while.

As a distraction, I walked over to her book shelf and took the books out, one by one. I had always wanted to go through the multitude of books in her room, but never yet had the chance.

Don Quixote, Gulliver's Travels, Pride and Prejudice, Oliver Twist, The Scarlet Letter, Moby-Dick, Madame Bovary, Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Trial, The Confessions, Hamlet…they went on for ever. Anne of Green Gables, Common Sense, Daisy Miller, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Ivanhoe—

I froze. Lady Chatterley's Lover? The girls of my family had all read this one. Alice had told me reading it would do me some good, especially since it was written around my time. If I could have blushed, I would have. I flipped the book over and read the back:

_In Lady Chatterley's Lover, Lawrence argues for regeneration, which can be found only through the relationship between a man and a woman (and, as he serts sometimes, man and man). Love and personal relationships are the thread that binds this novel together. Lawrence explores a wide range of different types of relationships. The reader sees the brutal, bullying relationship between Mellors and his wife Bertha, who punishes him by preventing his pleasure. There is Tommy Dukes, who has no relationship because he can not find a woman who he respects intellectually and at the same time finds desirable. There is also the perverse, maternal relationship that ultimately develops between Clifford and Mrs. Bolton after Connie has left. Masterful written, one of the most important novels of all time._

It felt wrong for me to read the back cover of such a book. After all, I had been brought up in the early 1900's. This was definitely not the kind of thing I would even allow myself to think of.

Yet…it was on Bella's book shelf. And what Bella liked to read, I wanted to read too. As if reading the back wasn't wrong enough, I flipped to the first page.

BPOV

When I woke up, I was instantly alert of last night's conversation. I opened my eyes slowly, and immediately saw Edward sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, reading. He was biting his bottom lip, and his foot tapped against the floor. I recognized the cover of the book and gasped before I could stop myself.

Edward's head jerked up to look at me with wide, shocked eyes. He dropped to book and leapt to his feet. He glanced around the room nervously before meeting my eyes for a fraction of a second and then looked down. He nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

By now the shock had worn off and I felt myself smiling.

"Lady Chatterley's Lover, huh?" I asked him teasingly.

He looked at me with an expression that said, _I've just committed a murder_!

"I…" he said, unable to form a sentence. I waited patiently.

"Yes?" I prompted when he didn't continue.

His eyes pleaded for me to drop it.

"Come on, Edward. Honesty, remember?"

He sighed, giving in. "It's just that I wanted to read all the books you've read so—"

I started to laugh. I couldn't help myself. He just looked so guilty for reading a book that wasn't moral.

"Bella?"

"I—have never—read that book—in my life!" I said in between snickers. He looked at me with a bewildered expression.

"What?" he demanded in an astonished voice.

"Renee bought me that as a joke." I chuckled again quietly to myself.

He continued to stare at nothing with a blank expression on his face.

"So," I said. "Did you enjoy it? It seems you read almost the entire thing."

He didn't answer me, but instead asked me a question of his own. "If you received this as a joke, why did you bring it with you to Forks?" I completely sobered up by the time he finished his question. I paused as I thought through my answer.

"I'm not sure," I finally said.

"Hmm." Now _he_ was the one smiling. My cheeks flamed red.

"Were you planning to read it sometime soon?" he asked with his lips curved up into that beautiful crooked smile.

"I, uh…" I wasn't sure what to say to that. Why _had_ I kept the book? Did I really want to read it after all?

"Honesty, remember?" Edward said, using my own words against me. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"I think I might still be trying to get up the nerve to read it." That was as honest as I could get.

"So are you sure there isn't some other motive for reading it?" I asked him, trying to regain my pride.  
I put my finger on my chin and gazed at the ceiling thoughtfully with pursed lips. Then, as if pretending the idea just came to me, I gasped in shock and looked at Edward with wide eyes.

"You weren't getting any ideas from that book, were you?" I demanded with faux horror.

The look on his face was absolutely priceless. Now it said, _you're convicting me of murder?!_ His posture was rigid and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to form a sentence.

"I'm just kidding, Edward," I said, effectively putting him out of his misery. He breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to glare at me with crossed arms.

"That wasn't funny," he scolded.

"You're right. That was mean of me." I tried to be serious, but the smile on my face gave the lie away. Edward only rolled his eyes in response.

The room was filled with a silence then, and Edward and I stared unrelentingly into each others eyes. Emotion after emotion passed through his golden eyes; guilt, sorrow, longing, embarrassment, hope, fear, love.

"Come here," I whispered. Edward obeyed instantly and we wrapped our arms around each other the moment he was next to me.

"We're far from finished talking, you know," I reminded him.

"I know that," he replied. "And I think we should talk as soon as possible." As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I sighed and pulled away, meeting his eyes.

"Okay." Then I thought for a moment before speaking again. "I think we should list the things we are one hundred percent positive about before we begin." Edward frowned in confusion.

"The things that won't change, no matter what happens from this day on," I clarified.

He nodded cautiously. "Alright," Edward agreed.

I didn't say anything after that, and, as if reading my mind, Edward said, "Would you like me to start?" I nodded sheepishly.

"Alright," he said again. Then he spoke without hesitation. "I'll turn you as long as you wish for it. I'll never leave you. I'll always love you."

My heart fluttered at those simple words.

"Is there anything else you'd like added to that list?" he asked me. I did want something else added, but it wasn't something I could easily discuss with him right now.

So, instead, I said, "No, that's fine." Then I proceeded to vow to him. "My turn. I'll always love you, of course. I'll spend the rest of forever with you. And…" I paused, trying to prolong the suspense. Edward looked at me anxiously.

"I want to be you're wife."

Edward's jaw literally dropped, before he broke into a breathtaking smile.

"Will you marry me?" I asked, a huge smile on my own face. It felt better than anything to make Edward so happy.

"Yes, yes, yes," he said in a strong voice. Then he took my face in his hands and kissed me with more passion than I'd ever felt from him. In that moment, I knew better than I ever had how much he loved me. It made me think of the one other thing I wanted added to his list. If Edward could show me that much love in a _kiss_…well, I couldn't even imagine how much I would feel if we were…together as one, so to speak.

I felt myself turn a deep red, but thankfully, I had the kiss as an excuse. Edwards hands slid from face, over my shoulders, down by back, and came to a stop as he grasped my waist between his hands. He pulled my shirt up slightly and slid his hands under and up so that they were resting on the bare skin of my shoulder blades. I gasped and my eyes flew open before I had a chance to think. This was something Edward didn't allow himself to do.

He abruptly pulled away from me and was across the room, standing beside the window, in the time it took me to blink. His expression was absolutely horrified.

"Bella…I…I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking, I just, I—"

"It's okay Edward," I promised. "I didn't mind," I added truthfully with a wry smile.

He met my eyes and smiled too, evaporating the tension that had suddenly filled the room.

***

I gazed out the window of my bedroom, trying to focus on the scenery, but really only being able to think of one thing.

Lady Chatterley's Lover.

I could not get the book out of my head. Mental images continued to worm themselves into my mind over and over again. The worst part was that I had absolutely no idea _why_ this was all I could think of.

"What are you doing home, Edward?" Carlisle asked me worriedly as he stepped into my room, still dressed in his work clothes. He was internally fretting that Bella and I hadn't talked.

"Charlie is home right now," I answered him truthfully. "I wanted to give Bella some time alone with her father."

Carlisle's face relaxed immediately. "May I ask what happened?"

I cast my eyes down toward the floor and spoke in a low voice, much too low for a human to hear. "I told her how I felt about myself, and about the insecurities I am feeling."

Carlisle smiled. _Excellent work. I know it was difficult for you. And I know Bella appreciated it._

I nodded in agreement, though my mind was already beginning to wander elsewhere.

_Is there anything still bothering you?_ Carlisle asked, searching my face carefully. I only shrugged, hoping to displace him. It was a vain hope.

_You seem confused and...guilty. Embarrassed._

I sighed heavily and shut my eyes. "I am confused." Carlisle waited for me to continue. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and spoke, still unable to look at him.

"I, er, I read that book Alice bought a long time ago. Bella had it on her book shelf."

Carlisle frowned, confused. _Which book? Why would...I'm not quite following you, Edward._

"Lady Chatterley's Lover," I whispered.

"Ahh," Carlisle spoke aloud, a smile creeping its way on his lips. "I understand now."

I shot him a bewildered look. "I don't think you do, actually."

"May I take a guess?" he asked. I nodded.

_For someone so moral, I'm sure this book has you feeling guilty. And I'm also sure you're feeling some new emotions you haven't felt before—human nor vampire. Am I correct?_

"Yes. I—I think so." Was this strange type of confusion another emotion all together?

"What am I feeling, exactly?" I questioned.

_Sexual tension._

Before I could stop myself, I was choking on air.

"What?" I gasped. "No...I think you're wrong. I'm not feeling..." I trailed off, unable to speak the words.

"Yes he is," Alice piped in from the bottom floor. She was sitting beside me a second later. I shot her a warning glance.

"Alice, this is kind of a private—"

"Last night I had a vision," she said to Carlisle hurriedly. "If Bella hadn't stopped him, Edward would have gone all the way. And when I say _all the way_, I mean—"

"Alice!" I yelled. I pinched the bridge of my nose between two fingers and took a deep breath through my mouth. Alice only giggled in reply.

"That's perfectly normal, Edward," Carlisle assured me. I was thankful he was taking this seriously.

"You wonder about the things you have read and you wonder what it would be like to experience them," he continued. If I could have blushed, I would have been purple.

"I just feel so...unclean," I murmured truthfully. Reading that book went against everything my parents had taught me, and what I believed.

Alice giggled again. "You're so old-fashioned, Edward. We're in the twenty-first century now. It's time for a change."

"Alice...would you mind leaving me alone for a bit? Or at the very least, would you mind if I asked you to stop talking?" She rolled her eyes dramatically, but left the room to go find Jasper.

Once she had left the house with Jasper to go hunt, Carlisle asked, "Have you talked to Bella about this?"

I started. "No," I finally said. Carlisle shook his head and smiled without humor.

"I advise you to go do that, Edward. Tomorrow is probably best."

***

I went hunting with Emmett that night, while Bella slept. I couldn't stay with her tonight. I just couldn't. I wasn't myself.

Go talk to Bella. My stomach muscles tightened at the thought. How was one supposed to bring up the subject of sexual tension? I cringed at the words.

This was not going to go over well. What was even the point of this conversation? It wouldn't do anything to lessen the feelings that were trying to break through my carefully planned boundaries.

_Do you even want boundaries anymore?_ a voice in my head questioned. I pushed it away as quickly as it had appeared. That wasn't even something I could consider. Boundaries were essential. Bella's life depended on them.

I groaned and let my head drop into my hands. This relationship was completely twisted. How could I ever make this right? Was it even possible?

"Edward, I smell a mountain lion," Emmett called as he ran up to me. "It's pretty close, too. Right up there. Can you smell—" he stopped abruptly as he looked at my pitiful position on the forest floor.

"What happened?" he demanded, sounding serious for once.

"Nothing," I muttered.

"Oh come on, Edward. I'm not that much of an idiot. What happened?"

I raised my head so I could look at him. "I'm just dealing with some new feelings," I confessed remorsefully.

"Ahh," he said, smiling now. "Wanting to take it a bit further, huh?"

"Shh!" I hissed, glancing around to make sure no one would hear even though we were in the middle of a forest. Emmett chuckled.

"It's normal, little bro."

"I'm older than you," I murmured.

"In a way."

I didn't answer.

"So what are you doing about it?" he pressed.

I groaned again and said, "I don't know!"

Emmett walked a few feet closer and sank to the ground beside me.

"Relax, man," he said and gave me a pat on the back. "I have a few ideas."

"Wonderful," I muttered, looking down again. I wasn't too sure how helpful Emmett's ideas may be.

"You could turn her in a couple days," he suggested. I shot him an angry look.

"No. That's out of the question."

"Alright..." he looked up toward the sky. "You could push the boundary line a little, to give yourself some peace of mind."

I shot him another look. "I can't! I could hurt her. And I doubt she wants to boundaries pushed. Just last night, I touched her back and she froze."

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I don't think that's the reason she froze."

I looked back down, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Just think about it, Edward," Emmett pushed. "You still have a bit of time."

I looked up at the sky that was starting to lighten up considerably. A bit more time, or no time at all. What difference did it make?


	17. Chapter 17 One More Step

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

Chapter 31 EPOV

I sat in the rocking chair beside Bella's bed. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her beautiful face. The sight attracted me to her like a magnetic, making it extremely difficult to stay where I was.

I knew I had only minutes before Bella would wake up, notice my discomfort, and will me to discuss the ever growing tension I felt between us.

For the past hour, I had been jumping back and forth between the two options I had in this situation—push the boundary lines a little further, or leave the lines the way they had been since the beginning. I had yet to come to a decision.

It was obvious to me which option was the safest and most responsible. But another part of me—the selfish part—craved more than it was receiving. As soon as I would come to the conclusion that pushing the lines just a little wouldn't hurt, I would internally cringe away from the thought. I worried that the more I pushed, the more I would want.

"Edward?"

Bella's soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts and to the present. She sat up and smiled.

"Good morning, love," I said in a low voice. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well, thank you." She smiled even bigger. I tried to smile back. Unconvincingly.

Bella's smile faltered. "Edward, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I smiled as genuinely as I could, but it didn't convince Bella's observant eyes.

"Edward," she said warningly.

I didn't know how to approach the subject.

"I'm just a little worried." What an understatement.

"About?" she pressed.

I played with the sleeve of my shirt and didn't answer right away. Then, deciding that it was better to just get it all off my chest, I spoke in a rush.

"About what I did after you said you'd marry me. I wasn't thinking when I…but I was just so happy and my thoughts were clouded when I…and—"

"Relax, Edward," Bella sighed. She looked into my eyes; straight into my soul. "I didn't mind it at all. Actually, quite the opposite." She blushed and looked down, doing nothing to help my self control.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, leaned back against the back of the chair, and closed my eyes.

Then I muttered, "You're too beautiful for your own good." And mine.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

I exhaled a shaky breath and looked down at the floor. "You're making me want to push the boundary lines."

The room was absolutely silent for a few seconds. Then Bella spoke in a whisper.

"Then push them."

For a moment I decided Bella's words made perfect sense. Then sense wandered back into my mind and I shook my head.

"No!" I said loudly, causing Bella to jump. "I can't," I added in a strained whisper.

We sat in silence for several minutes. I could tell Bella was looking at me. The intensity could have burned a hole through the wall. But I refused to meet her gaze.

"Why not?" Bella asked. She was still whispering.

I finally looked up at her. "It's wrong. It's not safe."

"Why?" she asked again.

"Why?" I repeated, a little angrily. She knew why. "Because I could easily lose control!"

She shook her head slightly. "No, I don't think so."

My mind was spinning. Where was all this coming from? She knew what I could do. I had explained everything to her the day I brought her to the meadow.

"And why is that?" I asked bitterly when I had found my voice.

She thought over her words for a moment before returning her gaze to me.

"You always say mind over matter. You say that your mind doesn't want to hurt me, because you love me so much. But I think, maybe…" she paused. "Maybe your body doesn't want to hurt me either. Maybe your body loves me as much as your mind."

I wanted to believe her words.

"You don't know that," I whispered.

"I think you need to trust your body more, Edward."

I looked into her eyes with pure longing. Her eyes reflected every emotion mine held as she waited for my answer.

Maybe we could try. If it was too much, we could stop. Maybe we could just push the lines a very, very little bit. Maybe…

Then there was a shout from outside.

"Bella!"

I froze, but Bella stood up and walked to the window.

A horrible, musky smell met my nose and a growl built in my chest at the same moment that she spoke.

"Jacob?"

**A/N: I know that was super short, but I'm working hard on perfecting the ending right now. It should be up by the beginning of October. **

**In the meanwhile, I've started a few chapters for my next story. It's called 'Ego and Misjudgment', and is a cross between "Pride and Prejudice" by "Jane Austen", and "Twilight". **

**If you want to check that out, here is the website address:**

**www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5385163/1/Ego_and_Misjudgment**

**-Adriana**


	18. Chapter 18 Victoria

**So do you all hate me? Yeah, I know you do. I hate me too. **

**I have a lot of personal things going on right now that make it extremely hard for me to put my efforts into writing. I'm trying, I really am. **

**I posted this part on FreedomFanfictionWriters, a while ago so for those of you who haven't read it, go ahead. **

**FreedomFanfictionWriters members who have read this already, more will be up in a week on this site and of FFW. It's not going to be a beast chapter, but it'll be about 1000 words, okay? After that, I'll try really, really hard to continue. But like I said, it's hard for me to put my thoughts and heart into this story when I need to put them somewhere else. **

**Disclaimer: SM owns toute. **

"It's the red-head bloodsucker!" Jacob yelled, a frantic look in his eyes.

Edward was leaning out the window in a small fraction of a second. His eyes narrowed in concentration and I knew he was scanning through Jacob's thoughts.

"Why didn't Alice see this?" he muttered, frustrated. I frowned and grabbed onto Edward's arm, tugging it to get his attention.

"See what? What happened?"

"She disappeared," Jacob said from the ground below.

I gasped and felt the blood drain from my face. Victoria was gone. I knew right away that she hadn't given up. She had a new plan; a new approach. I didn't even want to think about what it might be.

Suddenly Edward slammed his fist against the window sill, causing it to shatter into hundreds of tiny splinters and cut through the air like rain. Then he pulled me to his side as tightly as he could without hurting me and focused on the edge of trees toward the east. Seconds later, Alice came tearing through them, a look of terror on her face.

"Edward—" she whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

"I know—" he groaned in frustration and anxiety.

"What can we do?"

"I don't know!"

"What if we—?"

"No! I refuse to put her through that!"

"What other ideas do you have!?"

"Nothing yet, but _something_ has to be better than that!"

Jacob and I watched the exchange with deep frowns.

"One of you leech's better tell me what the hell I missed right now," Jacob snarled. Alice shot him a fierce look that Jacob reflected.

"It doesn't concern you, dog!" she hissed angrily.

"Like hell it doesn't!" he growled.

"Enough!" I yelled, interrupting them. "This obviously concerns everyone standing in my yard, so someone please enlighten those of us who can't read minds or see the future!"

Alice looked at me with big, sad, worried eyes.

"Victoria went to the Volturi," she cried.

I was now utterly confused.

"I don't understand," I said at the same time Jacob said, "What the hell is the Volterry?"

"They're the very essence of our kind, mutt! They're the reason your hair stands on end when you smell me! They're the substance of your nightmares, the dread behind your instincts!" she snarled to Jacob.

"I don't understand why she went to them!" I repeated.

"There are a few very basic rules vampires are expected to follow," Edward informed me in a tight voice. "One of the most important is that we do not inform humans of our existence. Victoria has gone to them to inform them of you. They'll take no hesitance in 'disposing' of you," he said with a snort of disgust.

I closed my eyes in grief. A few months ago, I really wouldn't have overly cared if I knew my death was quickly approaching. It would have been a blessing. But now that I had Edward back in my life and a bright future, I couldn't believe it was about to be taken from me. The thing that worried me the most about it all, though, was that killing me would kill Edward, too.

Suddenly Edward had thrown me over his shoulder and was rushing from the house.

"Edward, what are you doing?!" I yelled frantically. I had seen him like this before. When James had decided to hunt me down.

"Edward," Alice said calmly as Edward walked from the house. He didn't answer her.

"Edward, put me down!" I ordered. He ignored me, of course.

"Let go of her!" Jacob yelled. Uh-oh. This was going to get out of hand if I didn't stop it soon.

"Jacob, I'm fine," I said gently. "Please don't get into a fight right now."

He growled and shrunk back into the trees. At least someone was listening to me.

"Edward, you can't run. The Volturi will find her. We need to think this through."

_

_

_

For those of you who don't know, this thing where Victoria went to the Volturi is actually an idea Stephenie Meyer came up with but decided not to use. So Disclaimer to that.

Again, so sorry. Forgive me. You can continue hating me though, if you want. I know I would.

Adriana


	19. AN: IMPORTANT

Hi Everyone,

Sorry, not an update. But I have actually decided to edit this whole story over the next week and then hopefully have the drive to get it finished—finally.

So, I **NEED YOUR HELP**. I have a couple of questions that I'd really appreciate you answering for me, in regards to editing and creating the rest of this story.

Should I add in new events that were merely hinted before? (ie. Charlie's fight with Bella about marrying Edward)

Should I lengthen certain events? (ie. Confrontation with wolves)

Could I take entire chunks out? (ie. Video of Bella on movie screen when Bella runs away? I absolutely hate that part.)

After I have the entire thing edited and changed, should I keep the old version up for those who preferred it?

**mrkoolaid23**, thank you for your suggestions and opinions on where I had planned this story to go. It made me realize that this story is really not for me any more—its for all my readers. So, my question is, what would **YOU **like to happen next?

I won't end up doing exactly what someone suggests, because that would just take away all the surprise, but I may incorporate several people's wishes. Does that sound fair?

Again, I know I've said this a million times, but thanks so much to everyone who still hold a shred of hope for this story.

-Adriana


	20. CHAPTER 1 REVISED

CHAPTER 1 IS REVISED AND UP

If you go to my profile, you'll see I've added a new story. I'll be posting the new chapters there!

My dear Suzan Noerr has already found it and reviewed!

Thanks

-Adriana


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